We compared four-dimensional guide-pointmodelling left ventricular function analysis (4DVF) results of cine images in four short-axis and two long-axis slices acquired in a single breath-hold, obtained with the temporal parallel acquisition technique (TPAT), with standard left ventricular function (LVF) analysis results determined by the summation of discs method, in patients who had recently suffered myocardial infarction. Despite wall motion abnormalities, 4DVF yields results for left ventricular ejection fractions and end-diastolic and end-systolic volumes that are in excellent agreement with standard LVF analysis results in these patients. A shortened cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) protocol using single breath-hold cine image acquisition could facilitate the assessment of left ventricular function soon after myocardial infarction in critically ill patients who are unable to comply with the multiple breath-holds required for standard LVF analysis. (orig.)

At the request of Area Completion Projects (ACP) in support of the 488-4D Landfill closure, the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) has performed Hydrologic Evaluation of Landfill Performance (HELP) modeling of the planned 488-4D Ash Landfill closure cap to ensure that the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC) limit of no more than 12 inches of head on top of the barrier layer (saturated hydraulic conductivity of no more than 1.0E-05 cm/s) in association with a 25-year, 24-hour storm event is not projected to be exceeded. Based upon Weber 1998 a 25-year, 24-hour storm event at the Savannah River Site (SRS) is 6.1 inches. The results of the HELP modeling indicate that the greatest peak daily head on top of the barrier layer (i.e. geosynthetic clay liner (GCL) or high density polyethylene (HDPE) geomembrane) for any of the runs made was 0.079 inches associated with a peak daily precipitation of 6.16 inches. This is well below the SCDHEC limit of 12 inches.

We introduce a Skyrme type, four-dimensional Euclidean field theory made of a triplet of scalar fields n->, taking values on the sphere S{sup 2}, and an additional real scalar field {phi}, which is dynamical only on a three-dimensional surface embedded in R{sup 4}. Using a special ansatz we reduce the 4d non-linear equations of motion into linear ordinary differential equations, which lead to the construction of an infinite number of exact soliton solutions with vanishing Euclidean action. The theory possesses a mass scale which fixes the size of the solitons in way which differs from Derrick's scaling arguments. The model may be relevant to the study of the low energy limit of pure SU(2) Yang-Mills theory.

Chaotic behavior is a common feature of nonlinear dynamics, as well as hyperchaos in high-dimensional systems. In numerical simulations of these systems it is quite difficult to distinguish one from another behavior in some situations, as the results are frequently quite “noisy”. We show that in such systems a global hyperchaotic invariant set is present giving rise to long hyperchaotic transient behaviors. This fact provides a mechanism for these noisy results. The coexistence of chaos and hyperchaos is proved via Computer-Assisted Proofs techniques. - Highlights: • The coexistence of chaos and hyperchaos in the 4D Rössler system is proved via Computer-Assisted Proofs techniques. • A global hyperchaotic invariant set is present giving rise to long hyperchaotic transient behaviors. • The long transient behaviors make difficult in numerical simulations to distinguish chaos from hyperchaos in some situations.

We consider a Kaluza-Klein like approach for a 4d spin foam model. We apply this approach to a 4d TOCY model based on group field theory; and using the Peter-Weyl expansion of the gravitational field we will find a mechanism for gen- eration of matter and new dimensions from pure gravity.

Full Text Available Social evolution pyramid, built on the foundation of the ‘90s capitalist society, lead to the emergence of the informational society – years 1990 to 2005 – and knowledge society – years 2005 to 2020. The literature starts using a new concept, a new form of association – artificial intelligence society – foreseen to be established in the next time frame. All these developments of human society and translations or leaps (most of the times apparently timeless were, are and will be possible only due to the advancing information and communications technologies. The leap to Democracy 3.0, based on information and communication technologies prompts to a radical change in the majority of the classical concepts targeting society structure and the way it is guided and controlled. Thus, concepts become electronic concepts (or e-concepts through the use of new technologies. E-concepts keep the essence of the classical principles of liberty and democracy, adding a major aspect of the new way of communication and spreading ideas between people. The main problem is to quantify, analyze and foresee the way technological changes will influence not only the economic system, but also the daily life of the individual and the society. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately, depending on the point of view, all these evolutions and technological and social developments are as many challenges for the governments of the world. In this paper we will highlight only four of the challenges facing the governments, grouped in a structured model with the following specific concepts: Big Data, Social Data, Linked Data and Mobile Data. This is an emerging paradigm of the information and communication technology supporting national and global eGovernment projects.

Full Text Available Phosphorylated heat shock protein 20 (HSP20 is cardioprotective. Using human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs and a mouse model of pressure overload mediated hypertrophy, we show that peptide disruption of the HSP20–phosphodiesterase 4D (PDE4D complex results in attenuation of action potential prolongation and protection against adverse cardiac remodelling. The later was evidenced by improved contractility, decreased heart weight to body weight ratio, and reduced interstitial and perivascular fibrosis. This study demonstrates that disruption of the specific HSP20–PDE4D interaction leads to attenuation of pathological cardiac remodelling.

Four-dimensional computed tomography (4D-CT) imaging technology has been developed for radiation therapy to provide tumor and organ images at the different breathing phases. In this work, a procedure is proposed for estimating and modeling the respiratory motion field from acquired 4D-CT imaging data and predicting tissue motion at the different breathing phases. The 4D-CT image data consist of series of multislice CT volume segments acquired in ciné mode. A modified optical flow deformable i...

Four dimensional variational data assimilation (4D-Var) can be used to obtain the best estimate of the initial conditions of an environmental forecasting model, namely the analysis. In practice, when the forecasting model contains errors, the analysis from the 4D-Var algorithm will be degraded to allow for errors later in the forecast window. This work focusses on improving the analysis at the initial time by allowing for the fact that the model contains error, within the context of strong constraint 4D-Var. The 4D-Var method developed acknowledges the presence of random error in the model at each time step by replacing the observation error covariance matrix with an error covariance matrix that includes both observation error and model error statistics. It is shown that this new matrix represents the correct error statistics of the innovations in the presence of model error. A method for estimating this matrix using innovation statistics, without requiring prior knowledge of the model error statistics, is presented. The method is demonstrated numerically using a non-linear chaotic system with erroneous parameter values. We show that that the new method works to reduce the analysis error covariance when compared with a standard strong constraint 4D-Var scheme. We discuss the fact that an improved analysis will not necessarily provide a better forecast.

Frewen and Lanius (in press) recently articulated a 4-Dmodel as a framework for classifying symptoms of posttraumatic stress into those that potentially occur within normal waking consciousness (NWC) versus those that intrinsically represent dissociative experiences of trauma-related altered states of consciousness (TRASC). Four dimensions were specified: time-memory, thought, body, and emotion. The 4-Dmodel further hypothesizes that in traumatized persons, symptoms of TRASC, compared with NWC forms of distress, will be (a) observed less frequently; (b) less intercorrelated, especially as measured as moment-to-moment states; (c) observed more frequently in people with high dissociative symptomatology as measured independently; and (d) observed more often in people who have experienced repeated traumatization, particularly early developmental trauma. The aim of the present research was to begin to evaluate these 4 predictions of the 4-Dmodel. Within a sample of 74 women with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) primarily due to histories of childhood trauma, as well as within a 2nd sample of 504 undergraduates (384 females), the 1st 2 hypotheses of the 4-Dmodel were supported. In addition, within the PTSD sample, the 3rd hypothesis was supported. However, inconsistent with the 4th hypothesis, severity of childhood trauma history was not strongly associated with TRASC. We conclude that the hypotheses articulated by the 4-Dmodel were generally supported, although further research in different trauma-related disorders is needed, and the role of childhood trauma history in the etiology of TRASC requires further research.

Use Today Today, 4Dmodeling is being used to build Space Mountain at the new Hong Kong Disneyland theme park. Additionally, the technology is being...used for the reconstruction of the 26-year-old Space Mountain at the Disneyland in Anaheim. Muller explains: Among the hassles: Contractors must

Semaphorin 4d (Sema4d) has been proposed as a novel target gene for the treatment of osteoporosis. Recently, we fabricated a site-specific bone-targeting system from polymeric nanoparticles that demonstrates an ability to prevent bone loss in an osteoporotic model by interfering with Sema4d gene expression using small interference RNA (siRNA) molecules. The aim of the present investigation was to determine the effects of this targeting system on the periodontium, an area of high bone turnover. We demonstrated, by single photon emission computed tomography, that intravenous injection of this molecule in ovariectomized Balb/C mice is able to target alveolar bone peaking 4 hr post-injection. We then compared, by histological analysis, the bone volume/total volume (BV/TV), alveolar bone height loss, immunohistochemical expression of Sema4d, and total number of osteoclasts in mandibular alveolar bone. Four treatment modalities were compared as follows: (1) sham-operated, (2) OVX-operated, (3) OVX+estrogen replacement therapy, and (4) OVX+siRNA-Sema4d animals. The results from the present study demonstrate that an osteoporotic condition significantly increases alveolar bone height loss, and that the therapeutic effects via bone-targeting systems featuring interference of Sema4d are able to partly counteract alveolar bone loss caused by osteoporosis. While the future therapeutic demand for the large number of patients suffering from osteoporosis faces many challenges, we demonstrate within the present study an effective drug-delivery moiety with anabolic effects on the bone remodeling cycle able to locate and target alveolar bone regeneration.

Modeling of respiratory motion has become increasingly important in various applications of medical imaging (e.g., radiation therapy of lung cancer). Current modeling approaches are usually confined to intra-patient registration of 3D image data representing the individual patient's anatomy at different breathing phases. We propose an approach to generate a mean motion model of the lung based on thoracic 4D computed tomography (CT) data of different patients to extend the motion modeling capabilities. Our modeling process consists of three steps: an intra-subject registration to generate subject-specific motion models, the generation of an average shape and intensity atlas of the lung as anatomical reference frame, and the registration of the subject-specific motion models to the atlas in order to build a statistical 4D mean motion model (4D-MMM). Furthermore, we present methods to adapt the 4D mean motion model to a patient-specific lung geometry. In all steps, a symmetric diffeomorphic nonlinear intensity-based registration method was employed. The Log-Euclidean framework was used to compute statistics on the diffeomorphic transformations. The presented methods are then used to build a mean motion model of respiratory lung motion using thoracic 4D CT data sets of 17 patients. We evaluate the model by applying it for estimating respiratory motion of ten lung cancer patients. The prediction is evaluated with respect to landmark and tumor motion, and the quantitative analysis results in a mean target registration error (TRE) of 3.3 ±1.6 mm if lung dynamics are not impaired by large lung tumors or other lung disorders (e.g., emphysema). With regard to lung tumor motion, we show that prediction accuracy is independent of tumor size and tumor motion amplitude in the considered data set. However, tumors adhering to non-lung structures degrade local lung dynamics significantly and the model-based prediction accuracy is lower in these cases. The statistical respiratory

Full Text Available Since more and more applications and services have been transferred from servers in the B/S architecture to cloud, user access control has become a significant part in a multitenancy cloud platform. Role based access control model makes users participate in an enterprise system as particular identities. However, in a multitenancy cloud environment, it has a high probability that the information of tenants has been leaked by using existing role based access control (RBAC model. Moreover, management problems may emerge in the multitenancy platform with the increment of the number of tenants. In this paper, a novel concept of 4D-role is presented. With a detailed definition on the concept of 4D-role, a 4D-role based multitenancy model is proposed for running various applications and services in the multitenancy cloud platform. A theoretical analysis indicates that the model has the characters of tenant isolation, role hierarchy, and administration independence. The three characters are also verified by experimental evaluation. Moreover, the evaluation results indicate that the model has a good performance in using cloud resources when large-scale users are operating in the cloud platform simultaneously.

Disorders of the mitral valve are second most frequent, cumulating 14 percent of total number of deaths caused by Valvular Heart Disease each year in the United States and require elaborate clinical management. Visual and quantitative evaluation of the valve is an important step in the clinical workflow according to experts as knowledge about mitral morphology and dynamics is crucial for interventional planning. Traditionally this involves examination and metric analysis of 2D images comprising potential errors being intrinsic to the method. Recent commercial solutions are limited to specific anatomic components, pathologies and a single phase of cardiac 4D acquisitions only. This paper introduces a novel approach for morphological and functional quantification of the mitral valve based on a 4Dmodel estimated from ultrasound data. A physiological model of the mitral valve, covering the complete anatomy and eventual shape variations, is generated utilizing parametric spline surfaces constrained by topological and geometrical prior knowledge. The 4Dmodel's parameters are estimated for each patient using the latest discriminative learning and incremental searching techniques. Precise evaluation of the anatomy using model-based dynamic measurements and advanced visualization are enabled through the proposed approach in a reliable, repeatable and reproducible manner. The efficiency and accuracy of the method is demonstrated through experiments and an initial validation based on clinical research results. To the best of our knowledge this is the first time such a patient specific 4D mitral valve model is proposed, covering all of the relevant anatomies and enabling to model the common pathologies at once.

This work is a feasibility study to use a four-dimensional computed tomography (4D CT) dataset generated by a continuous motion model for treatment planning in lung radiotherapy. The model-based 4D CT data were derived from multiple breathing cycles. Four patients were included in this retrospective study. Treatment plans were optimized at end-exhale for each patient and the effect of respiratory motion on the dose delivery investigated. The accuracy of the delivered dose as determined by the number of intermediate respiratory phases used for the calculation was considered. The time-averaged geometry of the anatomy representing the mid-ventilation phase of the breathing cycle was generated using the motion model and a treatment plan was optimized for this phase for one patient. With respiratory motion included, the mid-ventilation plan achieved better target coverage than the plan optimized at end-exhale when standard margins were used to expand the clinical target volume (CTV) to planning target volume (PTV). Using a margin to account for set-up uncertainty only, resulted in poorer target coverage and healthy tissue sparing. For this patient cohort, the results suggest that conventional three-dimensional treatment planning was sufficient to maintain target coverage despite respiratory motion. The motion model has proved a useful tool in 4D treatment planning.

A detailed three-dimensional (3D) model of the coronary artery tree with cardiac motion has great potential for applications in a wide variety of medical imaging research areas. In this work, we first developed a computer-generated 3D model of the coronary arterial tree for the heart in the extended cardiac-torso (XCAT) phantom, thereby creating a realistic computer model of the human anatomy. The coronary arterial tree model was based on two datasets: (1) a gated cardiac dual-source computed tomography (CT) angiographic dataset obtained from a normal human subject and (2) statistical morphometric data of porcine hearts. The initial proximal segments of the vasculature and the anatomical details of the boundaries of the ventricles were defined by segmenting the CT data. An iterative rule-based generation method was developed and applied to extend the coronary arterial tree beyond the initial proximal segments. The algorithm was governed by three factors: (1) statistical morphometric measurements of the connectivity, lengths and diameters of the arterial segments; (2) avoidance forces from other vessel segments and the boundaries of the myocardium, and (3) optimality principles which minimize the drag force at the bifurcations of the generated tree. Using this algorithm, the 3D computational model of the largest six orders of the coronary arterial tree was generated, which spread across the myocardium of the left and right ventricles. The 3D coronary arterial tree model was then extended to 4D to simulate different cardiac phases by deforming the original 3D model according to the motion vector map of the 4D cardiac model of the XCAT phantom at the corresponding phases. As a result, a detailed and realistic 4Dmodel of the coronary arterial tree was developed for the XCAT phantom by imposing constraints of anatomical and physiological characteristics of the coronary vasculature. This new 4D coronary artery tree model provides a unique simulation tool that can be

Various types of 3D simulation applications benefit from realistic forest models. They range from flight simulators for entertainment to harvester simulators for training and tree growth simulations for research and planning. Our 4D forest simulation and information system integrates the necessary methods for data extraction, modelling and management. Using modern methods of semantic world modelling, tree data can efficiently be extracted from remote sensing data. The derived forest models contain position, height, crown volume, type and diameter of each tree. This data is modelled using GML-based data models to assure compatibility and exchangeability. A flexible approach for database synchronization is used to manage the data and provide caching, persistence, a central communication hub for change distribution, and a versioning mechanism. Combining various simulation techniques and data versioning, the 4D forest simulation and information system can provide applications with "both directions" of the fourth dimension. Our paper outlines the current state, new developments, and integration of tree extraction, data modelling, and data management. It also shows several applications realized with the system.

This paper introduces a predictive (selective) 4Dmodelling framework where only the spatial 3D differences are modelled at the forthcoming time instances, while regions of no significant spatial-temporal alterations remain intact. To accomplish this, initially spatial-temporal analysis is applied between 3D digital models captured at different time instances. So, the creation of dynamic change history maps is made. Change history maps indicate spatial probabilities of regions needed further 3D modelling at forthcoming instances. Thus, change history maps are good examples for a predictive assessment, that is, to localize surfaces within the objects where a high accuracy reconstruction process needs to be activated at the forthcoming time instances. The proposed 4D Land Information Management System (LIMS) is implemented using open interoperable standards based on the CityGML framework. CityGML allows the description of the semantic metadata information and the rights of the land resources. Visualization aspects are also supported to allow easy manipulation, interaction and representation of the 4D LIMS digital parcels and the respective semantic information. The open source 3DCityDB incorporating a PostgreSQL geo-database is used to manage and manipulate 3D data and their semantics. An application is made to detect the change through time of a 3D block of plots in an urban area of Athens, Greece. Starting with an accurate 3D model of the buildings in 1983, a change history map is created using automated dense image matching on aerial photos of 2010. For both time instances meshes are created and through their comparison the changes are detected.

Theoretical analysis of interplay between the condensates $$ and $$ in vacuum is generally made by relativistic effective potentials in the mean field approximation in 2D, 3D and 4Dmodels with two flavor and $N_c$ color massless fermions. It is found that in ground states of these models, interplay between the two condensates mainly depend on the ratio $G_S/H_S$ for 2D and 4D case or $G_S/H_P$ for 3D case, where $G_S$, $H_S$ and $H_P$ are respectively the coupling constants in a scalar $(\\bar{q}q)$, a scalar $(qq)$ and a pseudoscalar $(qq)$ channel. In ground states of all the models, only pure $$ condensates could exist if $G_S/H_S$ or $G_S/H_P$ is bigger than the critical value $2/N_c$, the ratio of the color numbers of the fermions entering into the condensates $$ and $$. As $G_S/H_S$ or $G_S/H_P$ decreases to the region below $2/N_c$, differences of the models will manifest themselves. Depending on different models, and also on $N_c$ in 3D model, one will have or have no the coexistence phase of the two ...

Time-dependent structure analysis theory has been proved to be more accurate and reliable com-pared to commonly used methods during construction. However, so far applications are limited to partial pe-riod and part of the structure because of immeasurable artificial intervention. Based on the building informa-tion model (BIM) and four-dimensional (4D) technology, this paper proposes an improves structure analysis method, which can generate structural geometry, resistance model, and loading conditions automatically by a close interlink of the schedule information, architectural model, and material properties. The method was applied to a safety analysis during a continuous and dynamic simulation of the entire construction process.The results show that the organic combination of the BIM, 4D technology, construction simulation, and safety analysis of time-dependent structures is feasible and practical. This research also lays a foundation for further researches on building lifecycle management by combining architectural design, structure analy-sis, and construction management.

Four-dimensional variational(4D-VAR) data assimilation method is a perfect data assimilation solution in theory, but the compu- tational issue is quite difficult in operational implementation. The incremental 4D-VAR assimilation scheme is set up in order to re- duce the computational cost. It is shown that the accuracy of the observations, the length of the assimilation window and the choice of the first guess have an important influence on the assimilation outcome through the contrast experiment. Compared with the standard 4D-VAR assimilation scheme, the incremental 4D-VAR assimilation scheme shows its advantage in the computation speed through an assimilation experiment.

We study meson thermalization in a strongly coupled plasma of quarks and gluons using AdS/CFT duality technique. Four dimensional large-Nc QCD is considered as a theory governing this quark-gluon plasma (QGP) and D4/D6-brane model is chosen to be its holographic dual theory. In order to investigate meson thermalization, we consider a time-dependent change of baryon number chemical potential. Thermalization in gauge theory side corresponds to horizon formation on the probe flavor brane in the gravity side. The gravitational dual theory is compactified on a circle that the inverse of its radius is proportional to energy scale of dual gauge theory. It is seen that increase of this energy scale results in thermalization time dilation. In addition we study the effect of magnetic field on meson thermalization. It will be seen that magnetic field also prolongs thermalization process by making mesons more stable.

We study meson thermalization in a strongly coupled plasma of quarks and gluons using AdS/CFT duality technique. Four dimensional large-Nc QCD is considered as a theory governing this quark-gluon plasma (QGP) and D4/D6- brane model is chosen to be its holographic dual theory. In order to investigate meson thermalization, we consider a time-dependent change of baryon number chemical potential. Thermalization in gauge theory side corresponds to horizon formation on the probe flavor brane in the gravity side. The gravitational dual theory is compactified on a circle that the inverse of its radius is proportional to energy scale of dual gauge theory. It is seen that increase of this energy scale results in thermalization time dilation. In addition we study the effect of magnetic field on meson thermalization. It will be seen that magnetic field also prolongs thermalization process by making mesons more stable.

Respiratory motion causes an important uncertainty in radiotherapy planning of the thorax and upper abdomen. The main objective of radiation therapy is to eradicate or shrink tumor cells without damaging the surrounding tissue by delivering a high radiation dose to the tumor region and a dose as low as possible to healthy organ tissues. Meeting this demand remains a challenge especially in case of lung tumors due to breathing-induced tumor and organ motion where motion amplitudes can measure up to several centimeters. Therefore, modeling of respiratory motion has become increasingly important in radiation therapy. With 4D imaging techniques spatiotemporal image sequences can be acquired to investigate dynamic processes in the patient’s body. Furthermore, image registration enables the estimation of the breathing-induced motion and the description of the temporal change in position and shape of the structures of interest by establishing the correspondence between images acquired at different phases of the br...

4D computed tomography (CT) has been widely used for treatment planning of thoracic and abdominal cancer radiotherapy. Current 4D-CT lung image reconstruction methods rely on respiratory gating to rearrange the large number of axial images into different phases, which may be subject to external surrogate errors due to poor reproducibility of breathing cycles. New image-matching-based reconstruction works better for the cine mode of 4D-CT acquisition than the helical mode because the table position of each axial image is different in helical mode and image matching might suffer from bigger errors. In helical mode, not only the phases but also the un-uniform table positions of images need to be considered. We propose a Bayesian method for automated 4D-CT lung image reconstruction in helical mode 4D scans. Each axial image is assigned to a respiratory phase based on the Bayesian framework that ensures spatial and temporal smoothness of surfaces of anatomical structures. Iterative optimization is used to reconstruct a series of 3D-CT images for subjects undergoing 4D scans. In experiments, we compared visually and quantitatively the results of the proposed Bayesian 4D-CT reconstruction algorithm with the respiratory surrogate and the image matching-based method. The results showed that the proposed algorithm yielded better 4D-CT for helical scans.

This paper presents two 4D mathematical observer models for the detection of motion defects in 4D gated medical images. Their performance was compared with results from human observers in detecting a regional motion abnormality in simulated 4D gated myocardial perfusion (MP) SPECT images. The first 4D mathematical observer model extends the conventional channelized Hotelling observer (CHO) based on a set of 2D spatial channels and the second is a proposed model that uses a set of 4D space-time channels. Simulated projection data were generated using the 4D NURBS-based cardiac-torso (NCAT) phantom with 16 gates/cardiac cycle. The activity distribution modelled uptake of (99m)Tc MIBI with normal perfusion and a regional wall motion defect. An analytical projector was used in the simulation and the filtered backprojection (FBP) algorithm was used in image reconstruction followed by spatial and temporal low-pass filtering with various cut-off frequencies. Then, we extracted 2D image slices from each time frame and reorganized them into a set of cine images. For the first model, we applied 2D spatial channels to the cine images and generated a set of feature vectors that were stacked for the images from different slices of the heart. The process was repeated for each of the 1,024 noise realizations, and CHO and receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analysis methodologies were applied to the ensemble of the feature vectors to compute areas under the ROC curves (AUCs). For the second model, a set of 4D space-time channels was developed and applied to the sets of cine images to produce space-time feature vectors to which the CHO methodology was applied. The AUC values of the second model showed better agreement (Spearman's rank correlation (SRC) coefficient = 0.8) to human observer results than those from the first model (SRC coefficient = 0.4). The agreement with human observers indicates the proposed 4D mathematical observer model provides a good predictor of the

This paper presents two 4D mathematical observer models for the detection of motion defects in 4D gated medical images. Their performance was compared with results from human observers in detecting a regional motion abnormality in simulated 4D gated myocardial perfusion (MP) SPECT images. The first 4D mathematical observer model extends the conventional channelized Hotelling observer (CHO) based on a set of 2D spatial channels and the second is a proposed model that uses a set of 4D space-time channels. Simulated projection data were generated using the 4D NURBS-based cardiac-torso (NCAT) phantom with 16 gates/cardiac cycle. The activity distribution modelled uptake of 99mTc MIBI with normal perfusion and a regional wall motion defect. An analytical projector was used in the simulation and the filtered backprojection (FBP) algorithm was used in image reconstruction followed by spatial and temporal low-pass filtering with various cut-off frequencies. Then, we extracted 2D image slices from each time frame and reorganized them into a set of cine images. For the first model, we applied 2D spatial channels to the cine images and generated a set of feature vectors that were stacked for the images from different slices of the heart. The process was repeated for each of the 1,024 noise realizations, and CHO and receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analysis methodologies were applied to the ensemble of the feature vectors to compute areas under the ROC curves (AUCs). For the second model, a set of 4D space-time channels was developed and applied to the sets of cine images to produce space-time feature vectors to which the CHO methodology was applied. The AUC values of the second model showed better agreement (Spearman’s rank correlation (SRC) coefficient = 0.8) to human observer results than those from the first model (SRC coefficient = 0.4). The agreement with human observers indicates the proposed 4D mathematical observer model provides a good predictor of the

In this paper, we present a 4D human-object interaction (4DHOI) model for solving three vision tasks jointly: i) event segmentation from a video sequence, ii) event recognition and parsing, and iii) contextual object localization. The 4DHOI model represents the geometric, temporal, and semantic relations in daily events involving human-object interactions. In 3D space, the interactions of human poses and contextual objects are modeled by semantic co-occurrence and geometric compatibility. On the time axis, the interactions are represented as a sequence of atomic event transitions with coherent objects. The 4DHOI model is a hierarchical spatial-temporal graph representation which can be used for inferring scene functionality and object affordance. The graph structures and parameters are learned using an ordered expectation maximization algorithm which mines the spatial-temporal structures of events from RGB-D video samples. Given an input RGB-D video, the inference is performed by a dynamic programming beam search algorithm which simultaneously carries out event segmentation, recognition, and object localization. We collected and released a large multiview RGB-D event dataset which contains 3,815 video sequences and 383,036 RGB-D frames captured by three RGB-D cameras. The experimental results on three challenging datasets demonstrate the strength of the proposed method.

Global Positioning System (GPS) signals experience ranging errors due to propagation through the neutral atmosphere. These range delays consist of a hydrostatic component, dependent on air pressure and temperature, and a wet delay dependent on water vapour pressure and temperature.Range delays arising from the hydrostatic component can be computed with accuracies of a few millimeters using existing models, provided that surface barometric or meteorological data are available. By using a regional network of GPS reference stations, it is possible to recover estimates of the Slant Wet Delay to all satellites in view. Observations of the Slant Wet Delay (SWD) can be used to model the vertical and horizontal structure of water vapour over a local area. These techniques are based on a tomographic approach using the SWD as input observables, where 4-Dmodels of the wet refractivity may be derived. This method allows improved resolution of water vapour estimates for precise positioning applications and assimilation into Numerical Weather Predictions (NWP). In this paper we present strategies for real-time modeling of wet refractivity, with simulations and preliminary results of data processing for a regional GPS network in Southern California.

We performed sand/silicon models imaged with X-ray tomography and reconstructed by 3D geomodelling for the study of (1) the interaction between host rock and salt diapir during diapir growth, and (2) the evolution of intra salt brittle rocks during diapir ascent. X-ray tomography is a non destructive imaging technique which allows us to follow the 4D evolution of the analogue model. Salt is modelled by Newtonian silicone putty and the internal rock layer, as well as the sedimentary host rock, by a granular Mohr-Coulomb material, generally coryndon. The analogue models are then compared to natural examples, the evolution of which is obtained through 3D restoration of the structures. (1) A 4D evolutionary scenario for a salt diapir development was originally proposed by Trusheim (1960) and discussed later on by Vendeville (1999) among others (Ge et al., 1997; Zirngast et al., 1996). This scenario is reproduced through analogue models to test the relative importance of (1) extensional tectonics, (2) sediment progradations, and (3) source layer depletion and rim-syncline touchdown, in the evolution of a diapir. The comparison of our results with the restored natural analogue shows that the main parameter remains (1) the rim-syncline touchdown and (2) the unloading of the diapir due to erosion. The latter accounts for a drop in strength necessary to allow for the flank rotation and down building of the diapir. Extensional stresses and sediment progradations will also amplify the halokinesis. (2) Salt diapirs from the Middle East or in Southern Permian Basin petroleum province show exotic blocks at outcrop and in salt mines, known as 'stringers' in subsurface data, usually composed of anhydrite, dolomite, marls or carbonates. These stringers, which constitute major structures inside the salt diapir, can reach a few km in size and originate from pre-existing brittle rock layers embedded in the salt layer. Stringers of the Ara carbonate within the Precambrian

In this work we study a Spin Foam model for 4d Riemannian gravity, and propose a new way of imposing the simplicity constraints that uses the recently developed holomorphic representation. Using the power of the holomorphic integration techniques, and with the introduction of two new tools: the homogeneity map and the loop identity, for the first time we give the analytic expressions for the behaviour of the Spin Foam amplitudes under 4-dimensional Pachner moves. It turns out that this behaviour is controlled by an insertion of nonlocal mixing operators. In the case of the 5-1 move, the expression governing the change of the amplitude can be interpreted as a vertex renormalisation equation. We find a natural truncation scheme that allows us to get an invariance up to an overall factor for the 4-2 and 5-1 moves, but not for the 3-3 move. The study of the divergences shows that there is a range of parameter space for which the 4-2 move is finite while the 5-1 move diverges. This opens up the possibility to reco...

We propose an efficient method for estimating a time-mean state of an ocean model subject to given observations using implicit time-stepping. The new method uses (i) an implicit implementation of the 4D-Var method to fit the model trajectory to the observations, and (ii) a preprocessor which applies

The continuous developing features in the design of mechanical product and based on 3D entity model is aimed at, and the extension of the 4-dimensional model with the process of designing, the knowledge described model on the level of semantic understanding and summarizing the designing process and the way of discovering knowledge from multi-information model are studied. On the basis of designing the broad sensed collaborative system, through discussion of the relationship between the implicit knowledge of the users and the designing knowledge as well as commanding all the designing links, taking advantage of the way of concluding and deducting in the concept of the designers, the synthetic knowledge unit formed in the dynamic process from the conception design to the last design is schemed out, and the knowledge discovered principle in the dynamic designing process of the mechanical products and the key technology in its implementation under the milieu of network is brought forward.

Building exposure computational models (ECM) of emission tomography (PET and SPECT) currently has several dedicated computing tools based on Monte Carlo techniques (SimSET, SORTEO, SIMIND, GATE). This paper is divided into two steps: (1) using the dedicated code GATE (Geant4 Application for Tomographic Emission) to build a 4Dmodel (where the fourth dimension is the time) of a clinical PET scanner from General Electric, GE ADVANCE, simulating the geometric and electronic structures suitable for this scanner, as well as some phenomena 4D, for example, rotating gantry; (2) the next step is to evaluate the performance of the model built here in the reproduction of test noise equivalent count rate (NEC) based on the NEMA Standards Publication NU protocols 2-2007 for this tomography. The results for steps (1) and (2) will be compared with experimental and theoretical values of the literature showing actual state of art of validation. (author)

Due to high noise levels in the voxel kinetics, development of reliable parametric imaging algorithms remains one of most active areas in dynamic brain PET imaging, which in the vast majority of cases involves receptor/transporter studies with reversibly binding tracers. As such, the focus of this work has been to develop a novel direct 4D parametric image reconstruction scheme for such tracers. Based on a relative equilibrium (RE) graphical analysis formulation (Zhou et al 2009b Neuroimage 44 661-70), we developed a closed-form 4D EM algorithm to directly reconstruct distribution volume (DV) parametric images within a plasma input model, as well as DV ratio (DVR) images within a reference tissue model scheme (wherein an initial reconstruction was used to estimate the reference tissue time-activity curves). A particular challenge with the direct 4D EM formulation is that the intercept parameters in graphical (linearized) analysis of reversible tracers (e.g. Logan or RE analysis) are commonly negative (unlike for irreversible tracers, e.g. using Patlak analysis). Subsequently, we focused our attention on the AB-EM algorithm, derived by Byrne (1998, Inverse Problems 14 1455-67) to allow inclusion of prior information about the lower (A) and upper (B) bounds for image values. We then generalized this algorithm to the 4D EM framework, thus allowing negative intercept parameters. Furthermore, our 4D AB-EM algorithm incorporated and emphasized the use of spatially varying lower bounds to achieve enhanced performance. As validation, the means of parameters estimated from 55 human 11C-raclopride dynamic PET studies were used for extensive simulations using a mathematical brain phantom. Images were reconstructed using conventional indirect as well as proposed direct parametric imaging methods. Noise versus bias quantitative measurements were performed in various regions of the brain. Direct 4D EM reconstruction resulted in notable qualitative and quantitative accuracy

Full Text Available A common practice to compute ligand conformations of compounds with various degrees of freedom to be used in molecular modeling (QSAR and docking studies is to perform a conformational distribution based on repeated random sampling, such as Monte-Carlo methods. Further calculations are often required. This short review describes some methods used for conformational analysis and the implications of using selected conformations in QSAR. A case study is developed for 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D, a widely used herbicide which binds to TIR1 ubiquitin ligase enzyme. The use of such an approach and semi-empirical calculations did not achieve all possible minima for 2,4-D. In addition, the conformations and respective energies obtained by the semi-empirical AM1 method do not match the calculated trends obtained by a high level DFT method. Similar findings were obtained for the carboxylate anion, which is the bioactive form. Finally, the crystal bioactive structure of 2,4-D was not found as a minimum when using Monte-Carlo/AM1 and is similarly populated with another conformer in implicit water solution according to optimization at the B3LYP/aug-cc-pVDZ level. Therefore, quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR methods based on three dimensional chemical structures are not fundamental to provide predictive models for 2,4-D congeners as TIR1 ubiquitin ligase ligands, since they do not necessarily reflect the bioactive conformation of this molecule. This probably extends to other systems.

We compare two optimized chemical data assimilation systems, one based on the ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF) and the other based on four-dimensional variational (4D-Var) data assimilation, using a comprehensive stratospheric chemistry transport model (CTM). This work is an extension of the Belgian Assimilation System for Chemical ObsErvations (BASCOE), initially designed to work with a 4D-Var data assimilation. A strict comparison of both methods in the case of chemical tracer transport was done in a previous study and indicated that both methods provide essentially similar results. In the present work, we assimilate observations of ozone, HCl, HNO3, H2O and N2O from EOS Aura-MLS data into the BASCOE CTM with a full description of stratospheric chemistry. Two new issues related to the use of the full chemistry model with EnKF are taken into account. One issue is a large number of error variance parameters that need to be optimized. We estimate an observation error variance parameter as a function of pressure level for each observed species using the Desroziers method. For comparison purposes, we apply the same estimate procedure in the 4D-Var data assimilation, where both scale factors of the background and observation error covariance matrices are estimated using the Desroziers method. However, in EnKF the background error covariance is modelled using the full chemistry model and a model error term which is tuned using an adjustable parameter. We found that it is adequate to have the same value of this parameter based on the chemical tracer formulation that is applied for all observed species. This is an indication that the main source of model error in chemical transport model is due to the transport. The second issue in EnKF with comprehensive atmospheric chemistry models is the noise in the cross-covariance between species that occurs when species are weakly chemically related at the same location. These errors need to be filtered out in addition to a

A 3-compartment model of phytoplankton growth dynamics has been coupled with a primitive-equation circulation model to better understand and quantify physical and biological processes in the Adriatic Sea. This paper presents the development and application of a data assimilation procedure based on optimal control theory. The aim of the procedure is to identify a set of model coefficient values that ensures the best fit between data and model results by minimizing a function that measures model and data discrepancies. In this sense, twin experiments have been successfully implemented in order to have a better estimation of biological model parameters and biological initial conditions.

Three production scenarios have been simulated for three displacement mechanisms using three lithofacies models built at two scales (fine and coarse) from a 2D outcrop analogue. Analysis of the flow simulation results and the associated seismic modelling investigate the dependence of the time-lapse response on the lithofacies model and the vertical grid block size. Elastic attribute quantification from coarse-grid models requires a decision on the type of fluid saturation distribution (uniform or patchy) within the coarse-grid blocks. Here, empirical relations for scaling up the fluid bulk modulus are developed which, when inserted into standard Gassmann calculations, permit calibration of the response for the coarse-grid block model from the finer-scale model. At the coarse scale, fluid saturation changes during water injection and pressure depletion can be represented adequately by these relations but, for gas injection, it appears necessary to refer back to the fine-scale models. For the case of gas injection they cannot be generalized readily for each different lithofacies model and are thus observed to be outcrop dependent. (author)

Bayesian frameworks are commonly used in tracking algorithms. An important example is the particle filter, where a stochastic motion model describes the evolution of the state, and the observation model relates the noisy measurements to the state. Particle filters have been used to track the lineage of cells. Propagating the shape model of the cell through the particle filter is beneficial for tracking. We approximate arbitrary shapes of cells with a novel implicit convex function. The importance sampling step of the particle filter is defined using the cost associated with fitting our implicit convex shape model to the observations. Our technique is capable of tracking the lineage of cells for nonmitotic stages. We validate our algorithm by tracking the lineage of retinal and lens cells in zebrafish embryos. PMID:27403085

Full Text Available We show the existence and uniqueness of a massless supersymmetric ground state wavefunction of a SU(2 matrix model in a bounded smooth domain with Dirichlet boundary conditions. This is a gauge system and we provide a new framework to analyze the quantum spectral properties of this class of supersymmetric matrix models subject to constraints which can be generalized for arbitrary number of colors.

Tarantula is an explosive kinetic package intended to do detonation, shock initiation, failure, corner-turning with dead zones, gap tests and air gaps in reactive flow hydrocode models. The first, 2007-2008 version with monotonic Q is here run inside JWL++ with square zoning from 40 to 200 zones/cm on ambient LX-17. The model splits the rate behavior in every zone into sections set by the hydrocode pressure, P + Q. As the pressure rises, we pass through the no-reaction, initiation, ramp-up/failure and detonation sections sequentially. We find that the initiation and pure detonation rate constants are largely insensitive to zoning but that the ramp-up/failure rate constant is extremely sensitive. At no time does the model pass every test, but the pressure-based approach generally works. The best values for the ramp/failure region are listed here in Mb units.

The four-dimensional empirical orthogonal function (4D-EOF), which in reality is a simple combination of three-dimensional EOF (3D-EOF) and extended EOF (EEOF), is put forward in this paper to test the ability of numerical model to simulate climate and its change. The 4D-EOF analysis is able to reveal not only the horizontal characteristic pattern of analyzed variable, and its corresponding annual and inter-annual variations, but also the vertical structural characteristics. The method suggested is then used to analyze the monthly mean 100-, 500-, 700-, and 1000-hPa geopotential height fields (4941 grids and grid spacing 60 km) and their anomaly fields in 1989-1998 simulated by the MM5V3 from the RMIP (Regional Climate Model Inter-comparison Project for East Asia)-Ⅱ, as well as their counterparts (used as the observed fields)from the NCEP/NCAR re-analysis dataset in the same period. The ability of MM5V3 in simulating East Asian climate and its change is tested by comparing the 4D-EOF analysis results of the simulated and observed datasets. The comparative analyzed results show that the horizontal pattern of the first eigenvector of the observed monthly mean geopotential height fields and its vertical equivalent barotropic feature were well simulated; the simulations of the first two eigenvectors of the observed monthly mean geopotential height anomaly fields were also successful for their horizontal abnormal distributions and significant equivalent barotropic features in the vertical were well reproduced; and furthermore, the observed characteristics,such as the variation with height, the annual and inter-annual variations of the monthly mean geopotential height/anomaly fields were also well reflected in the simulation. Therefore, the 4D-EOF is able to comprehensively test numerical model's ability of simulating the climate and its change, and the simulation ability of MM5V3 for the climate and its change in East Asia in the 1990s was satisfactory.

In this paper we consider a model for gravity in four-dimensional space-time originally proposed by Chamseddine, which may be derived by dimensional reduction and truncation from a five-dimensional Chern-Simons theory. Its topological origin makes it an interesting candidate for an easier quantization, e.g., in the loop quantization framework. The present paper is dedicated to a classical analysis of the model's properties. Cosmological solutions as well as wave solutions are found and compared with the corresponding solutions of Einstein's general relativity with cosmological constant. (orig.)

Full Text Available We study the phenomenology of both the Neutral Current (NC and Charged Current (CC Drell-Yan (DY processes at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC within a 4 Dimensional realization of a Composite Higgs model with partial compositness by estimating the integrated and differential event rates and taking into account the possible impact of the extra fermions present in the spectrum. We show that, in certain regions of the parameters space, the multiple neutral resonances present in the model can be distinguishable and experimentally accessible in the invariant or transverse mass distributions.

We study perturbations of the 4-dimensional fuzzy sphere as a background in the IKKT or IIB matrix model. The linearized 4-dimensional Einstein equations are shown to arise from the classical matrix model action, without adding an Einstein-Hilbert term. The excitation modes with lowest spin are identified as gauge fields, metric and connection fields. In addition to the usual gravitational waves, there are also physical "torsion" wave excitations. The quantum structure of the geometry encodes a twisted bundle of self-dual 2-forms, which leads to a covariant 4-dimensional noncommutative geometry. The formalism of string states is used to compute one-loop corrections to the effective action. This leads to a mass term for the gravitons which is significant for $S^4$, but argued to be small in the Minkowski case.

To understand and solve business problems, the decision maker has a basic orientation to any dimensión of the organization. The 4 dimensións model is based on the perspective to understand and manipulate the business world: technical perspective that manages things and human perspective that is responsible for directing people to the task and performance, integration of both perspectives defines the basic preference of decision maker. The circumstance, that represents the problematic situatio...

We introduce a duality between two-dimensional XY-spin models with symmetry-breaking perturbations and certain four-dimensional SU(2) and SU(2) = Z{sub 2} gauge theories, compactified on a small spatial circle R{sup 1,2} x S{sup 1}, and considered at temperatures near the deconfinement transition. In a Euclidean set up, the theory is defined on R{sup 2} x T{sup 2}. Similarly, thermal gauge theories of higher rank are dual to new families of 'affine' XY-spin models with perturbations. For rank two, these are related to models used to describe the melting of a 2d crystal with a triangular lattice. The connection is made through a multi-component electric-magnetic Coulomb gas representation for both systems. Perturbations in the spin system map to topological defects in the gauge theory, such as monopole-instantons or magnetic bions, and the vortices in the spin system map to the electrically charged W-bosons in field theory (or vice versa, depending on the duality frame). The duality permits one to use the two-dimensional technology of spin systems to study the thermal deconfinement and discrete chiral transitions in four-dimensional SU(N{sub c}) gauge theories with n{sub f} {ge} 1 adjoint Weyl fermions.

The purpose of this paper is to use an animal model to quantify the spatial displacement uncertainties and test the fundamental assumptions of an image-based 4D-CT algorithm in vivo. Six female Landrace cross pigs were ventilated and imaged using a 64-slice CT scanner (GE Healthcare) operating in axial cine mode. The breathing amplitude pattern of the pigs was varied by periodically crimping the ventilator gas return tube during the image acquisition. The image data were used to determine the displacement uncertainties that result from matching CT images at the same respiratory phase using normalized cross correlation (NCC) as the matching criteria. Additionally, the ability to match the respiratory phase of a 4.0 cm subvolume of the thorax to a reference subvolume using only a single overlapping 2D slice from the two subvolumes was tested by varying the location of the overlapping matching image within the subvolume and examining the effect this had on the displacement relative to the reference volume. The displacement uncertainty resulting from matching two respiratory images using NCC ranged from 0.54 ± 0.10 mm per match to 0.32 ± 0.16 mm per match in the lung of the animal. The uncertainty was found to propagate in quadrature, increasing with number of NCC matches performed. In comparison, the minimum displacement achievable if two respiratory images were matched perfectly in phase ranged from 0.77 ± 0.06 to 0.93 ± 0.06 mm in the lung. The assumption that subvolumes from separate cine scan could be matched by matching a single overlapping 2D image between to subvolumes was validated. An in vivo animal model was developed to test an image-based 4D-CT algorithm. The uncertainties associated with using NCC to match the respiratory phase of two images were quantified and the assumption that a 4.0 cm 3D subvolume can by matched in respiratory phase by matching a single 2D image from the 3D subvolume was validated. The work in this paper shows the image-based 4D

Seismic reservoir characterization and monitoring requires a good understanding of the many factors that influence the elastic properties of reservoir rocks, as well as the changes in elastic properties induced by reservoir production, such as those derived from variations in pressure, temperature, or reservoir porosity and saturation. This understanding can be obtained from a both rock physics modeling and direct laboratory measurements. This paper presented a rock physics analysis carried out to integrate well-log and seismic data for reservoir characterization and forward modeling of four-dimensional seismic response in heavy oil sands. The paper also presented an evaluation of the seismic response related to thermal recovery, including an analysis that accounted for frequency-dependant p-wave velocity dispersion; highly viscous fluid; temperature effects on fluid properties; and pressure effects on rock properties. It was concluded that p-wave and shear-wave velocity variation as a function of temperature are the dominant factors to consider while integrating well-log and seismic data in sands of the Morichal members of the Oficina formation in Venezuela. 6 refs., 9 figs.

Full Text Available Problem statement: Cardiovascular Diseases (CVD continued to
be the leading cause of death. Failure or abnormal cardiac cellular or sub-cellular
vibrations (oscillations could lead failure or abnormal heart beats that could
cause CVD. Understanding the mechanisms of the vibrations (oscillations could
help to prevent or to treat the diseases. Scientists have studied the mechanisms
for more than 100 years. To our knowledge, the mechanisms are still unclear today.
In this investigation, based on published data or results, conservation laws of
the momentum as well as the energy, in views of biology, biochemistry, informatics
and physics (BioChemInfoPhysics, we proposed our models of cardiac cellular and
sub-cellular vibrations (oscillations of biological components, such as free
ions in Biological Fluids (BF, Biological Membranes (BM, Ca++H+ (Ca++ and Na+K+
ATPases, Na+Ca++ exchangers (NCX, Ca++ carriers and myosin heads. Approach:
Our models were described with 4-D (x, y, z, t or r, ?, z, t momentum
transfer equations in mathematical physics. Results: The momentum
transfer equations were solved with free and forced, damped, un-damped and over-damped,
vibrations (oscillations. The biological components could be modeled as resonators
or vibrators (oscillators, such as liquid plasmas, membranes, active springs,
passive springs and active swings. Conclusion: We systematically
provided new insights of automation (ignition and maintain, transportation, propagation
and orientation of the cardiac cellular and sub-cellular vibrations (oscillations
and resonances, with our BioChemInfoPhysics models of 4-D momentum transfer equations.
Our modeling results implied: Auto-rhythmic cells (Sinoatrial Node Cells (SANC,
Atrioventricular Node Cells (AVNC, Purkinje fibers, non-Auto-rhythmic ventricular
myocytes and their Sarcoplasmic Reticulums (SR work as Biological Liquid Plasma
Resonators (BLPR. The resonators were

Full Text Available The Ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF assimilation method is applied to the tracer transport using the same stratospheric transport model as in the 4D-Var assimilation system BASCOE. This EnKF version of BASCOE was built primarily to avoid the large costs associated with the maintenance of an adjoint model. The EnKF developed in BASCOE accounts for two adjustable parameters: a parameter α controlling the model error term and a parameter r controlling the observational error. The EnKF system is shown to be markedly sensitive to these two parameters, which are adjusted based on the monitoring of a χ2-test measuring the misfit between the control variable and the observations. The performance of the EnKF and 4D-Var versions was estimated through the assimilation of Aura-MLS ozone observations during an 8 month period which includes the formation of the 2008 Antarctic ozone hole. To ensure a proper comparison, despite the fundamental differences between the two assimilation methods, both systems use identical and carefully calibrated input error statistics. We provide the detailed procedure for these calibrations, and compare the two sets of analyses with a focus on the lower and middle stratosphere where the ozone lifetime is much larger than the observational update frequency. Based on the Observation-minus-Forecast statistics, we show that the analyses provided by the two systems are markedly similar, with biases smaller than 5% and standard deviation errors smaller than 10% in most of the stratosphere. Since the biases are markedly similar, they have most probably the same causes: these can be deficiencies in the model and in the observation dataset, but not in the assimilation algorithm nor in the error calibration. The remarkably similar performance also shows that in the context of stratospheric transport, the choice of the assimilation method can be based on application-dependent factors, such as CPU cost or the ability to generate an ensemble

We study the 6d N=(0,2) superconformal field theory, which describes multiple M5-branes, on the product space S^2 x M_4, and suggest a correspondence between a 2d N=(0,2) half-twisted gauge theory on S^2 and a topological sigma-model on the four-manifold M_4. To set up this correspondence, we determine in this paper the dimensional reduction of the 6d N=(0,2) theory on a two-sphere and derive that the four-dimensional theory is a sigma-model into the moduli space of solutions to Nahm's equations, or equivalently the moduli space of k-centered SU(2) monopoles, where k is the number of M5-branes. We proceed in three steps: we reduce the 6d abelian theory to a 5d Super-Yang-Mills theory on I x M_4, with I an interval, then non-abelianize the 5d theory and finally reduce this to 4d. In the special case, when M_4 is a Hyper-Kahler manifold, we show that the dimensional reduction gives rise to a topological sigma-model based on tri-holomorphic maps. Deriving the theory on a general M_4 requires knowledge of the met...

The 2006 Texas Air Quality Study (TexAQS 2006), an intensive field campaign, took place in eastern Texas in August-October 2006. Several flights of the NOAA WP-3 research aircraft were dedicated to characterizing anthropogenic emissions over Houston. We present a method that uses the FLEXPART Lagrangian particle dispersion model in combination with the WRF mesoscale model to assess and improve existing emission inventories. We used a 4-dimensional variational (4D-VAR) inverse modeling technique based on a least-squares method to improve the spatial and temporal distribution of CO, NOx and SO2 emissions predicted by the 4-km-resolution US EPA National Emission Inventory (NEI) for 1999 and 2005. Differences between the a priori and a posteriori inventories are discussed. Furthermore, a new method has been developed to calculate an emission inventory for an anthropogenic pollutant without a prior emission estimate. This method employs coefficients of the multivariate regressions between mixing ratios of the pollutant with those of CO and NOx measured by the aircraft in conjunction with CO and NOx emission inventories. We demonstrate the validity of this technique by constructing an anthropogenic emission inventory of CO2 in the Houston area and comparing it to the Vulcan inventory.

Reservoir heterogeneities influence the performance of heavy-oil production by the steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) process. This paper reported on a study that evaluated the impact of reservoir heterogeneities on the steam chamber growth in a heavy oil field of the Canadian Athabasca McMurray Formation. The study involved three steps: (1) the construction of an initial static model, (2) the simulation of the thermal production of heavy oil with two coupled fluid-flow and geomechanical models, and (3) the production of synthetic seismic maps at different steps of steam injection. Two periods of SAGD production were studied in detail, notably the early times of steam injection and later on when the steam chamber developed laterally and vertically towards the top of the reservoir. The objective was to improve the interpretation of 4D seismic data in steam-assisted production at an early stage by understanding how the steam would be distributed along the injection well in the first few weeks or months of steam injection. The study was based on a fully integrated approach that involved geology, geophysics, reservoir and geomechanics. The study revealed that for long periods of production, the reservoir-scale heterogeneities can impact the production by a limitation of the steam chamber growth upwards. However, paths and drains in the upper part of the reservoir could allow the steam to propagate in low-pay areas or in thief zones. 11 refs., 18 figs.

We study the 6d N = (0 , 2) superconformal field theory, which describes multiple M5-branes, on the product space S 2 × M 4, and suggest a correspondence between a 2d N = (0 , 2) half-twisted gauge theory on S 2 and a topological sigma-model on the four-manifold M 4. To set up this correspondence, we determine in this paper the dimensional reduction of the 6d N = (0 , 2) theory on a two-sphere and derive that the four-dimensional theory is a sigma-model into the moduli space of solutions to Nahm's equations, or equivalently the moduli space of k-centered SU(2) monopoles, where k is the number of M5-branes. We proceed in three steps: we reduce the 6d abelian theory to a 5d Super-Yang-Mills theory on I × M 4, with I an interval, then non-abelianize the 5d theory and finally reduce this to 4d. In the special case, when M 4 is a Hyper-Kähler manifold, we show that the dimensional reduction gives rise to a topological sigma-model based on tri-holomorphic maps. Deriving the theory on a general M 4 requires knowledge of the metric of the target space. For k = 2 the target space is the Atiyah-Hitchin manifold and we twist the theory to obtain a topological sigma-model, which has both scalar fields and self-dual two-forms.

Full Text Available The novel complex photocatalytic material was prepared by coating TiO2 nanoparticles on tourmaline using the sol-gel method, and used in the degradation of the herbicide 2,4-D. The results indicated that coating TiO2 with tourmaline enhanced the photocatalytic activity significantly. Based on the research of a simplified model for the average light intensity in the photoreactor, the influence of the concentration of photocatalyst, and the initial concentration of 2,4-D, a model for the degradation of 2,4-D by the tourmaline-coated TiO2 nanoparticles was established. Further tests showed that results calculated from this model were close to those obtained in the actual experiments.

The combination of real-time fluoroscopy and 3D cardiac imaging on the same C-arm system is a promising technique that might improve therapy planning, guiding, and monitoring in the interventional suite. In principal, to reconstruct a 3D image of the beating heart at a particular cardiac phase, a complete set of X-ray projection data representing that phase is required. One approximate approach is the retrospectively ECG-gated FDK reconstruction (RG-FDK). From the acquired data set of N s multiple C-arm sweeps, those projection images which are acquired closest in time to the desired cardiac phase are retrospectively selected. However, this approach uses only 1/ N s of the obtained data. Our goal is to utilize data from other cardiac phases as well. In order to minimize blurring and motion artifacts, cardiac motion has to be compensated for, which can be achieved using a temporally dependent spatial 3D warping of the filtered-backprojections. In this work we investigate the computation of the 4D heart motion based on prior reconstructions of several cardiac phases using RG-FDK. A 4D motion estimation framework is presented using standard fast non-rigid registration. A smooth 4D motion vector field (MVF) represents the relative deformation compared to a reference cardiac phase. A 4D deformation regridding by adaptive supersampling allows selecting any reference phase independently of the set of phases used in the RG-FDK for a motion corrected reconstruction. Initial promising results from in vivo experiments are shown. The subjects individual 4D cardiac MVF could be computed from only three RG-FDK image volumes. In addition, all acquired projection data were motion corrected and subsequently used for image reconstruction to improve the signal-to-noise ratio compared to RG-FDK.

Photoacoustic tomography (PAT) offers three-dimensional (3D) structural and functional imaging of living biological tissue with label-free, optical absorption contrast. These attributes lend PAT imaging to a wide variety of applications in clinical medicine and preclinical research. Despite advances in live animal imaging with PAT, there is still a need for 3D imaging at centimeter depths in real-time. We report the development of four dimensional (4D) PAT, which integrates time resolutions with 3D spatial resolution, obtained using spherical arrays of ultrasonic detectors. The 4D PAT technique generates motion pictures of imaged tissue, enabling real time tracking of dynamic physiological and pathological processes at hundred micrometer-millisecond resolutions. The 4D PAT technique is used here to image needle-based drug delivery and pharmacokinetics. We also use this technique to monitor 1) fast hemodynamic changes during inter-ictal epileptic seizures and 2) temperature variations during tumor thermal therapy.

Electron tomography provides three-dimensional (3D) imaging of noncrystalline and crystalline equilibrium structures, as well as elemental volume composition, of materials and biological specimens, including those of viruses and cells. We report the development of 4D electron tomography by integrating the fourth dimension (time resolution) with the 3D spatial resolution obtained from a complete tilt series of 2D projections of an object. The different time frames of tomograms constitute a movie of the object in motion, thus enabling studies of nonequilibrium structures and transient processes. The method was demonstrated using carbon nanotubes of a bracelet-like ring structure for which 4D tomograms display different modes of motion, such as breathing and wiggling, with resonance frequencies up to 30 megahertz. Applications can now make use of the full space-time range with the nanometer-femtosecond resolution of ultrafast electron tomography.

Electron tomography provides three-dimensional (3D) imaging of noncrystalline and crystalline equilibrium structures, as well as elemental volume composition, of materials and biological specimens, including those of viruses and cells. We report the development of 4D electron tomography by integrating the fourth dimension (time resolution) with the 3D spatial resolution obtained from a complete tilt series of 2D projections of an object. The different time frames of tomograms constitute a mov...

Cinema 4D is a fully integrated 3D modeling, animation, and rendering package used extensively in the film, television, science, architecture, engineering and other industries. Generally ranked as the 3rd most widely-used 3Dapplication Cinema 4D is widely praised for its stability, speed and ease of use. Recent film and broadcast productions that have used Cinema 4D include Open Season, Monster House, Superman Returns, Polar Express, Monday Night Football. This third edition of Cinema 4D is updated to address the latest release of the application as well as its critically acclaimed MoGr

建筑信息建模（Building Information Modeling,BIM）技术通过建立参数化的BIM 3维、4维甚至多维模型、服务于建设项目的整个生命周期,为建设项目各参与方的沟通协作提供了平台,为实现可视化效果、优化施工进度、改进施工方法、节约成本等方面提供了先进的技术手段。以一实际建设项目的 3维、4维建模为例,论述BIM建模的过程,希望给BIM应用在国内的推广提供借鉴与参考。%By producing 3D, 4D and even nD parametric models, the technique of building information modeling （BIM） offers a platform for all participants of a project to enhance communication and cooperation in entire life cycle of a project to realize greater visualization effect, shorter schedules, improved construction methods and better cost control. This article aims to describe the BIM modeling process by taking a realistic construction projectg BIM 3D and 4Dmodeling for example, it is expected to provide a reference for the popularization of BIM application in China.

Full Text Available We investigate two examples of conformal invariant pure spinor fermionic models, which admit particle-like solutions of the classical field equations. For different dimensions and quantum spinor numbers, the vector field visualizations of the models are constructed to provide a better understanding of the spinor-type instanton dynamics in phase space. The hierarchical cluster analysis method investigations of the models are also presented. Finally, the autocorrelation and power spectrum graphs of models are constructed and frequencies of motions are defined.

We study the relation between c = 1 matrix models at self-dual radii and topological strings on non-compact Calabi-Yau manifolds. Particularly the special case of the deformed matrix model is investigated in detail. Using recent results on the equivalence of the partition function of topological strings and that of four dimensional BPS black holes, we are able to calculate the entropy of the black holes, using matrix models. In particular, we show how to deal with the divergences that arise as a result of the non-compactness of the Calabi-Yau. The main result is that the entropy of the black hole at zero temperature coincides with the canonical free energy of the matrix model, up to a proportionality constant given by the self-dual temperature of the matrix model.

Retrodeformation of a three-dimensional geologic model allows us to explore the tectonic evolution of the Peninsula segment of the San Andreas Fault and adjacent rock bodies in the San Francisco Bay area. By using geological constraints to quantitatively retrodeform specific surfaces (e.g. unfolding paleohorizontal horizons, removing fault slip), we evaluate the geometric evolution of rock bodies and faults in the study volume and effectively create a four-dimensional model of the geology. The three-dimensional map is divided into fault-bounded blocks and subdivided into lithologic units. Surface geologic mapping provides the foundation for the model. Structural analysis and well data allow extrapolation to a few kilometers depth. Geometries of active faults are inferred from double-difference relocated earthquake hypocenters. Gravity and magnetic data provide constraints on the geometries of low density Cenozoic deposits on denser basement, highly magnetic marker units, and adjacent faults. Existing seismic refraction profiles constrain the geometries of rock bodies with different seismic velocities. Together these datasets and others allow us to construct a model of first-order geologic features in the upper ~15 km of the crust. Major features in the model include the active San Andreas Fault surface; the Pilarcitos Fault, an abandoned strand of the San Andreas; an active NE-vergent fold and thrust belt located E of the San Andreas Fault; regional relief on the basement surface; and several Cenozoic syntectonic basins. Retrodeformation of these features requires constraints from all available datasets (structure, geochronology, paleontology, etc.). Construction of the three-dimensional model and retrodeformation scenarios are non-unique, but significant insights follow from restricting the range of possible geologic histories. For example, we use the model to investigate how the crust responded to migration of the principal slip surface from the Pilarcitos Fault

In erosional research a variety of processes are well understood and have been mimicked under laboratory conditions. In complex natural systems such as Alpine environments a multitude of influencing factors tend to superimpose single processes in a mixed signal which impedes a reliable interpretation. These mixed signals can already be captured by geoscientific research approaches such as sediment collectors, erosion pins or remote sensing surveys. Nevertheless, they fail to distinguish between single processes and their individual impact on slope morphology. Throughout the last two years a highly active slope of unsorted glacial deposits in the northern Alps has been monitored by repeated terrestrial laser scans roughly every three months. Resulting high resolution digital elevation models of difference were produced to identify possible seasonal patterns. By reproducing the TLS results with a physically based erosion model (EROSION 3D) ran with in situ input data from rainfall simulations and a climate station a better understanding of individual mechanism could be achieved. However, the already elaborate combination of soil science and close range remote sensing could not answer all questions concerning the slopes behaviour, especially not for freeze and thaw cycles and the winter period. Therefore, an array of three fully automatic synchronised cameras was setup to generate continuous 3D surface models. Among the main challenges faced for the system were the energy supply and durability, perspectives of the cameras to avoid shadowing and to guarantee sufficient overlap, a certain robustness to withstand rough alpine weather conditions, the scaling of each 3D model by tracked ground control points and the automatic data handling. First results show individual processes sculpting the slope's morphology but further work is required to improve automatic point cloud creation and change monitoring.

SU(2) lattice gauge theory is extended to a larger coupling space where the coupling parameter for horizontal (spacelike) plaquettes, $\\beta_H$, differs from that for vertical (Euclidean timelike) plaquettes, $\\beta_V$. When $\\beta_H \\rightarrow \\infty$ the system, when in Coulomb Gauge, splits into multiple independent 3-d O(4) Heisenberg models on spacelike hyperlayers. Through consideration of the robustness of the Heisenberg model phase transition to small perturbations, and illustrated by Monte Carlo simulations, it is shown that the ferromagnetic phase transition in this model persists for $\\beta_H < \\infty$. Once it has entered the phase-plane it must continue to another edge due to its symmetry-breaking nature, and therefore must necessarily cross the $\\beta_V = \\beta_H$ line at a finite value. Indeed, a higher-order SU(2) phase transition is found at $\\beta = 3.18 \\pm 0.08$, from a finite-size scaling analysis of the Coulomb gauge magnetization from Monte Carlo simulations, which also yields criti...

Methane (CH4) is emitted from a range of anthropogenic and natural sources, and since the industrial revolution its mean atmospheric concentration has climbed dramatically. CH4 produces a relatively high radiative forcing effect upon the Earth's climate, and its atmospheric lifetime of approximately 10 years makes it an appealing target for the mitigation of climate change. However, the spatial and temporal variation of CH4 emissions are not well understood, though in recent years a number of top-down and bottom-up studies have attempted to construct improved emission budgets. However, some top-down studies suffer from poor observational coverage near the Amazon basin, particularly in the planetary boundary layer. Since emissions from this region, coming mainly from wetland and burning sources, are thought to be relatively high, additional observations in this region would greatly help to constrain the geographical distribution of the global CH4 emission budget. To this end, regular flask measurements of CH4 and other trace gases have been taken during flights over four Amazonian sites since 2010, as part of the AMAZONICA project. The GOSAT has been used to retrieve global column-average CH4 concentrations since mid-2009, whilst IASI, on-board Metop-A, has also been measuring atmospheric CH4 concentrations since its launch in 2006. We present an assessment of Amazonian methane emissions for 2010 and 2011 using the TOMCAT Chemical Transport Model and the new variational inverse model, INVICAT. These models are used to attribute methane variations at each Amazon site to a source type and region, to assess the ability of our current CH4 flux estimates to reproduce these observations and to produce improved posterior emission estimates through assimilation of atmospheric observations. This study represents the first use of the INVICAT scheme to constrain emissions of any atmospheric trace gas. Whilst there is generally good agreement between the model and the

The compound HgBa{sub 2}CuO{sub 4+{delta}} (Hg1201) exhibits a simple tetragonal crystal structure and the highest superconducting transition temperature (T{sub c}) among all single Cu-O layer cuprates, with T{sub c} = 97 K (onset) at optimal doping. Due to a lack of sizable single crystals, experimental work on this very attractive system has been significantly limited. Thanks to a recent breakthrough in crystal growth, such crystals have now become available. Here, we demonstrate that it is possible to identify suitable heat treatment conditions to systematically and uniformly tune the hole concentration of Hg1201 crystals over a wide range, from very underdoped (T{sub c} = 47 K, hole concentration p {approx} 0.08) to overdoped (T{sub c} = 64 K, p {approx} 0.22). We then present quantitative magnetic susceptibility and DC charge transport results that reveal the very high-quality nature of the studied crystals. Using XPS on cleaved samples, we furthermore demonstrate that it is possible to obtain large surfaces of good quality. These characterization measurements demonstrate that Hg1201 should be viewed as a model high-temperature superconductor, and they provide the foundation for extensive future experimental work.

An efficient method to obtain ethyl 5-amino-1-tosyl-1H-pyrazole-4-carboxylate (3) was outlined using condensation reactions of 4-methylbenzenesulfonylhydrazide with (E)-ethyl 2-cyano-3-ethoxyacrylate. The cyclocondensation reaction of this substrate and its hydrazide derivative with urea, thiourea, formamide, formic acid, d-glucose, o-phenylenediamine, 4-dimethylaminobenzaldehyde, anthracene-9-carbaldehyde, thioglycolic acid and carbon disulphide then with hydrazine hydrate analogues furnished a series of pyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidine, pyrazolo[3,4-d]oxazin-4-one, pyrazole-4-glucoside, 4-benzo[d]imidazole, 1,3-thiazolidinone, 1,3,4-oxadiazol-2(3H)-thione and 1,2,4-triazol-5(4H)-thione derivatives respectively. The structure of the compound 3 was supported by X-Ray crystallographic data. Orally administrated, one of each of the series of pyrazoles showed significant effects in mouse tumor model cancer cell lines (EAC) and two human cancer cell lines of Colon cancer (HCT-29) and Breast cancer (MCF-7) with docking studies.

Time-dependent gravimetric measurements can detect subsurface processes long before magma flow leads to earthquakes or other eruption precursors. The ability of gravity measurements to detect subsurface mass flow is greatly enhanced if gravity measurements are analyzed and modeled with ground-deformation data. Obtaining the maximum information from microgravity studies requires careful evaluation of the layout of network benchmarks, the gravity environmental signal, and the coupling between gravity changes and crustal deformation. When changes in the system under study are fast (hours to weeks), as in hydrothermal systems and restless volcanoes, continuous gravity observations at selected sites can help to capture many details of the dynamics of the intrusive sources. Despite the instrumental effects, mainly caused by atmospheric temperature, results from monitoring at Mt. Etna volcano show that continuous measurements are a powerful tool for monitoring and studying volcanoes.Several analytical and numerical mathematical models can beused to fit gravity and deformation data. Analytical models offer a closed-form description of the volcanic source. In principle, this allows one to readily infer the relative importance of the source parameters. In active volcanic sites such as Long Valley caldera (California, U.S.A.) and Campi Flegrei (Italy), careful use of analytical models and high-quality data sets has produced good results. However, the simplifications that make analytical models tractable might result in misleading volcanological inter-pretations, particularly when the real crust surrounding the source is far from the homogeneous/ isotropic assumption. Using numerical models allows consideration of more realistic descriptions of the sources and of the crust where they are located (e.g., vertical and lateral mechanical discontinuities, complex source geometries, and topography). Applications at Teide volcano (Tenerife) and Campi Flegrei demonstrate the

In recent years, rock physics modeling has become an integral part of reservoir characterization as it provides the fundamental relationship between geophysical measurements and reservoir rock properties. These models are also used to quantify the effect of fluid saturation and stress on reservoir rocks by tracking the changes in elastic properties during production. Additionally, various rock physics models can be applied to obtain the information of rock properties away from existing drilled wells, which can play a crucial role in the feasibility assessment of CO2-enhanced oil recovery (EOR) operation at field. Thus, the objective of this study is to develop a rock-physics model of the Ankleshwar reservoir to predict the reservoir response under CO2-EOR. The Ankleshwar oil field is a mature field situated in Cambay Basin (Western India) that witnessed massive peripheral water flooding for around 40 years. Since the field was under water flooding for a long term, reasonable changes in reservoir elastic properties might have occurred. To identify potential reservoir zone with significant bypassed (or residual) oil saturation, we applied the diagnostic rock physics models to two available wells from the Ankleshwar oil field. The results clearly indicate transitions from clean sands to shaly sands at the base, and from sandy shale to pure shale at the top of the reservoir pay zone, suggesting a different seismic response at the top when compared to the base of the reservoir in both the wells. We also found that clay content and sorting affects the elastic properties of these sands, indicating different depositional scenario for the oil sands encountered in the Ankleshwar formation. Nevertheless, the rock physics template (RPT) analysis of the well data provides valuable information about the residual oil zone, a potential target for CO2-EOR. Further, a 4D reservoir characterization study has been conducted to assess the seismic detectability of CO2-EOR, and we

A ditching investigation was made of a l/l2-scale dynamically similar model of the Douglas F4D-1 airplane to study its behavior when ditched. The model was landed in calm water at the Langley tank no. 2 monorail. Various landing attitudes, speeds, and configurations were investigated. The behavior of the model was determined from visual observations, acceleration records, and motion-picture records of the ditchings. Data are presented in tables, sequence photographs, time-history acceleration curves, and attitude curves. From the results of the investigation, it was concluded that the airplane should be ditched at the lowest speed and highest attitude consistent with adequate control (near 22 deg) with landing gear retracted. In a calm-water ditching under these conditions the airplane will probably nose in slightly, then make a fairly smooth run. The fuselage bottom will sustain appreciable damage so that rapid flooding and short flotation time are likely. Maximum longitudinal deceleration will be about 4g and maximum normal acceleration will be about 6g in a landing run of about 420 feet, In a calm-water ditching under similar conditions with the landing gear extended, the airplane will probably dive. Maximum longitudinal decelerations will be about 5-1/2g and maximum normal accelerations will be about 3-1/2g in a landing run of about 170 feet.

The purpose of this study is to test a new dynamic Perfusion-CT imaging protocol in an animal model and investigate the feasibility of quantifying perfusion of lung parenchyma to perform functional analysis from 4D CT image data. A novel perfusion-CT protocol was designed with 25 scanning time points: the first at baseline and 24 scans after a bolus injection of contrast material. Post-contrast CT scanning images were acquired with a high sampling rate before the first blood recirculation and then a relatively low sampling rate until 10 minutes after administrating contrast agent. Lower radiation techniques were used to keep the radiation dose to an acceptable level. 2 Yorkshire swine with pulmonary emboli underwent this perfusion- CT protocol at suspended end inspiration. The software tools were designed to measure the quantitative perfusion parameters (perfusion, permeability, relative blood volume, blood flow, wash-in & wash-out enhancement) of voxel or interesting area of lung. The perfusion values were calculated for further lung functional analysis and presented visually as contrast enhancement maps for the volume being examined. The results show increased CT temporal sampling rate provides the feasibility of quantifying lung function and evaluating the pulmonary emboli. Differences between areas with known perfusion defects and those without perfusion defects were observed. In conclusion, the techniques to calculate the lung perfusion on animal model have potential application in human lung functional analysis such as evaluation of functional effects of pulmonary embolism. With further study, these techniques might be applicable in human lung parenchyma characterization and possibly for lung nodule characterization.

In this paper, we develop a rather general way to reduce integrands with polarisation involved in the Cachazo-He-Yuan formulae, such as the reduced Pfaffian and its compactification, as well as the new object for F3 amplitude. We prove that the reduced Pfaffian vanishes unless on a certain set of solutions. It leads us to build up the 4d CHY formulae using spinors, which strains off many useless solutions. The supersymmetrization is straightforward and may provide a hint to understanding ambitwistor string in 4d.

Just as we can work with two-dimensional floor plans to communicate 3D architectural design, we can exploit reduced-dimension shadows to manipulate the higher-dimensional objects generating the shadows. In particular, by taking advantage of physically reactive 3D shadow-space controllers, we can transform the task of interacting with 4D objects to a new level of physical reality. We begin with a teaching tool that uses 2D knot diagrams to manipulate the geometry of 3D mathematical knots via their projections; our unique 2D haptic interface allows the user to become familiar with sketching, editing, exploration, and manipulation of 3D knots rendered as projected imageson a 2D shadow space. By combining graphics and collision-sensing haptics, we can enhance the 2D shadow-driven editing protocol to successfully leverage 2D pen-and-paper or blackboard skills. Building on the reduced-dimension 2D editing tool for manipulating 3D shapes, we develop the natural analogy to produce a reduced-dimension 3D tool for manipulating 4D shapes. By physically modeling the correct properties of 4D surfaces, their bending forces, and their collisions in the 3D haptic controller interface, we can support full-featured physical exploration of 4D mathematical objects in a manner that is otherwise far beyond the experience accessible to human beings. As far as we are aware, this paper reports the first interactive system with force-feedback that provides "4D haptic visualization" permitting the user to model and interact with 4D cloth-like objects.

The El Salvador Fault Zone (ESFZ) is an active, approximately 150 km long and 20 km wide, segmented, dextral strike-slip fault zone within the Central American Volcanic Arc striking N100°E. Although several studies have investigated the surface expression of the ESFZ, little is known about its structure at depth and its kinematic evolution. Structural field data and mapping suggest a phase of extension, at some stage during the evolution of the ESFZ. This phase would explain dip-slip movements on structures that are currently associated with the active, dominantly strike slip and that do not fit with the current tectonic regime. Field observations suggest trenchward migration of the arc. Such an extension and trenchward migration of the volcanic arc could be related to slab rollback of the Cocos plate beneath the Chortis Block during the Miocene/Pliocene. We carried out 4-D analog model experiments to test whether an early phase of extension is required to form the present-day fault pattern in the ESFZ. Our experiments suggest that a two-phase tectonic evolution best explains the ESFZ: an early pure extensional phase linked to a segmented volcanic arc is necessary to form the main structures. This extensional phase is followed by a strike-slip dominated regime, which results in intersegment areas with local transtension and segments with almost pure strike-slip motion. The results of our experiments combined with field data along the Central American Volcanic Arc indicate that the slab rollback intensity beneath the Chortis Block is greater in Nicaragua and decreases westward to Guatemala.

Get to grips with a new technology, understand what it is and what it can do for you, and then get to work with the most important features and tasks.This book is written in a friendly, practical style with lots of screenshots and help that will ensure you grow in confidence chapter by chapter.This book is recommended for artists that have experience in other 3D software packages, and who want to learn Cinema 4D. That being said, dedicated readers without experience in other 3D software should not be discouraged from reading this book to learn the basics of Cinema 4D as their first 3D package.

This paper investigates and demonstrates a 4D lung CT reconstruction/registration method which results in a complete volumetric model of the lung that deforms according to a respiratory motion field. The motion field is estimated iteratively between all available slice samples and a reference vol...... than using an optimization which does not correct for phase errors. Knowing how the lung and any tumors located within the lung deforms is relevant in planning the treatment of lung cancer.......This paper investigates and demonstrates a 4D lung CT reconstruction/registration method which results in a complete volumetric model of the lung that deforms according to a respiratory motion field. The motion field is estimated iteratively between all available slice samples and a reference...

HII galaxies are clumpy and their gas kinematics can be mapped to show the global turbulent motions and the effect of massive star evolution. The distribution of their physical conditions is homogeneous and oxygen abundance is uniform. The presence of nebular HeII 4868 line seems to be higher in a low abundance galaxy, implying a harder ionization power probably due to stars in low metallicity. Innovative methods of data cube analysis, namely PCA tomography (nicknamed 4D), seem promising in revealing additional information not detected with the standard methods. I review some of our own recent work on the 3D spectroscopy of HII galaxies.

An overview of the theory of 4D image reconstruction for emission tomography is given along with a review of the current state of the art, covering both positron emission tomography and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). By viewing 4D image reconstruction as a matter of either linear or non-linear parameter estimation for a set of spatiotemporal functions chosen to approximately represent the radiotracer distribution, the areas of so-called ‘fully 4D’ image reconstruction and ‘direct kinetic parameter estimation’ are unified within a common framework. Many choices of linear and non-linear parameterization of these functions are considered (including the important case where the parameters have direct biological meaning), along with a review of the algorithms which are able to estimate these often non-linear parameters from emission tomography data. The other crucial components to image reconstruction (the objective function, the system model and the raw data format) are also covered, but in less detail due to the relatively straightforward extension from their corresponding components in conventional 3D image reconstruction. The key unifying concept is that maximum likelihood or maximum a posteriori (MAP) estimation of either linear or non-linear model parameters can be achieved in image space after carrying out a conventional expectation maximization (EM) update of the dynamic image series, using a Kullback-Leibler distance metric (comparing the modeled image values with the EM image values), to optimize the desired parameters. For MAP, an image-space penalty for regularization purposes is required. The benefits of 4D and direct reconstruction reported in the literature are reviewed, and furthermore demonstrated with simple simulation examples. It is clear that the future of reconstructing dynamic or functional emission tomography images, which often exhibit high levels of spatially correlated noise, should ideally exploit these 4D

A 4D parametric motion graph representation is presented for interactive animation from actor performance capture in a multiple camera studio. The representation is based on a 4Dmodel database of temporally aligned mesh sequence reconstructions for multiple motions. High-level movement controls such as speed and direction are achieved by blending multiple mesh sequences of related motions. A real-time mesh sequence blending approach is introduced, which combines the realistic deformation of previous nonlinear solutions with efficient online computation. Transitions between different parametric motion spaces are evaluated in real time based on surface shape and motion similarity. Four-dimensional parametric motion graphs allow real-time interactive character animation while preserving the natural dynamics of the captured performance.

The development of 4D CT imaging technology made possible the creation of patient models that are reflective of respiration-induced anatomical changes by adding a temporal dimension to the conventional 3D, spatial-only, patient description. This had opened a new venue for treatment planning and radiation delivery, aimed at creating a comprehensive 4D radiation therapy process for moving targets. Unlike other breathing motion compensation strategies (e.g. breath-hold and gating techniques), 4D radiotherapy assumes treatment delivery over the entire respiratory cycle – an added bonus for both patient comfort and treatment time efficiency. The time-dependent positional and volumetric information holds the promise for optimal, highly conformal, radiotherapy for targets experiencing movements caused by respiration, with potentially elevated dose prescriptions and therefore higher cure rates, while avoiding the uninvolved nearby structures. In this paper, the current state of the 4D treatment planning is reviewed, from theory to the established practical routine. While the fundamental principles of 4D radiotherapy are well defined, the development of a complete, robust and clinically feasible process still remains a challenge, imposed by limitations in the available treatment planning and radiation delivery systems. PMID:22796324

Conclusions: An integrated computer program has been developed to generate, review, analyse, process, and export the 4D XCAT images. A framework has been established to implement the 4D XCAT phantom for 4D RT research.

Recent advances in three dimensional (3D) printing technology that allow multiple materials to be printed within each layer enable the creation of materials and components with precisely controlled heterogeneous microstructures. In addition, active materials, such as shape memory polymers, can be printed to create an active microstructure within a solid. These active materials can subsequently be activated in a controlled manner to change the shape or configuration of the solid in response to an environmental stimulus. This has been termed 4D printing, with the 4th dimension being the time-dependent shape change after the printing. In this paper, we advance the 4D printing concept to the design and fabrication of active origami, where a flat sheet automatically folds into a complicated 3D component. Here we print active composites with shape memory polymer fibers precisely printed in an elastomeric matrix and use them as intelligent active hinges to enable origami folding patterns. We develop a theoretical model to provide guidance in selecting design parameters such as fiber dimensions, hinge length, and programming strains and temperature. Using the model, we design and fabricate several active origami components that assemble from flat polymer sheets, including a box, a pyramid, and two origami airplanes. In addition, we directly print a 3D box with active composite hinges and program it to assume a temporary flat shape that subsequently recovers to the 3D box shape on demand.

We propose a four dimensional description of Composite Higgs Models which represents a complete framework for the physics of the Higgs as a pseudo-Nambu-Goldstone boson. Our setup captures all the relevant features of 5D models and more in general of composite Higgs models with partial compositeness. We focus on the minimal scenario where we include a single multiplet of resonances of the composite sector, as these will be the only degrees of freedom which might be accessible at the LHC. This turns out to be sufficient to compute the effective potential and derive phenomenological consequences of the theory. Moreover our simplified approach is well adapted to simulate these models at the LHC. We also consider the impact of non-minimal terms in the effective lagrangian which do not descend from a 5D theory and could be of phenomenological relevance, for example contributing to the S-parameter.

City models visualisation, buildings, structures and volumetric information, is an important task in Computer Graphics and Urban Planning. The different formats and data sources involved in the visualisation make the development of applications a big challenge. We present a homogeneous web visualisation framework using X3DOM and MEDX3DOM for the visualisation of these urban objects. We present an integration of different declarative data sources, enabling the utilization of advanced visualisation algorithms to render the models. It has been tested with a city model composed of buildings from the Madrid University Campus, some volumetric datasets coming from Air Quality Models and 2D layers wind datasets. Results show that the visualisation of all the urban models can be performed in real time on the Web. An HTML5 web interface is presented to the users, enabling real time modifications of visualisation parameters.

Although strong evidence exists to suggest that altered cardiac function can lead to CHDs, few studies have investigated the influential role of cardiac function and biophysical forces on the development of the cardiovascular system due to a lack of proper in vivo imaging tools. 4-D imaging is needed to decipher the complex spatial and temporal patterns of biomechanical forces acting upon the heart. Numerous solutions over the past several years have demonstrated 4-D OCT imaging of the developing cardiovascular system. This chapter will focus on these solutions and explain their context in the evolution of 4-D OCT imaging. The first sections describe the relevant techniques (prospective gating, direct 4-D imaging, retrospective gating), while later sections focus on 4-D Doppler imaging and measurements of force implementing 4-D OCT Doppler. Finally, the techniques are summarized, and some possible future directions are discussed.

The Drell-Yan di-lepton production at hadron colliders is by far the preferred channel to search for new heavy spin-1 particles. Traditionally, such searches have exploited the Narrow Width Approximation (NWA) for the signal, thereby neglecting the effect of the interference between the additional Z'-bosons and the Standard Model Z and {\\gamma}. Recently, it has been established that both finite width and interference effects can be dealt with in experimental searches while still retaining the model independent approach ensured by the NWA. This assessment has been made for the case of popular single Z'-boson models currently probed at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC). In this paper, we test the scope of the CERN machine in relation to the above issues for some benchmark multi Z'-boson models. In particular, we consider Non-Universal Extra Dimensional (NUED) scenarios and the 4-Dimensional Composite Higgs Model (4DCHM), both predicting a multi-Z' peaking structure. We conclude that in a variety of cases, s...

The Drell-Yan di-lepton production at hadron colliders is by far the preferred channel to search for new heavy spin-1 particles. Traditionally, such searches have exploited the Narrow Width Approximation (NWA) for the signal, thereby neglecting the effect of the interference between the additional Z '-bosons and the Standard Model Z and γ. Recently, it has been established that both finite width and interference effects can be dealt with in experimental searches while still retaining the model independent approach ensured by the NWA. This assessment has been made for the case of popular single Z '-boson models currently probed at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC). In this paper, we test the scope of the CERN machine in relation to the above issues for some benchmark multi Z '-boson models. In particular, we consider Non-Universal Extra Dimensional (NUED) scenarios and the 4-Dimensional Composite Higgs Model (4DCHM), both predicting a multi- Z ' peaking structure. We conclude that in a variety of cases, specifically those in which the leptonic decays modes of one or more of the heavy neutral gauge bosons are suppressed and/or significant interference effects exist between these or with the background, especially present when their decay widths are significant, traditional search approaches based on the assumption of rather narrow and isolated objects might require suitable modifications to extract the underlying dynamics.

Gravity waves (GWs) play an important role in atmospheric dynamics. Due to their short wavelengths, they must be parameterized in current weather and forecast models, which cannot resolve them explicitly. We are here the first to report the possibility and the implication of having an online GW parameterization in a linear but global model that incorporates their horizontal propagation, the effects of transients and of horizontal background gradients on GW dynamics. The GW parameterization is based on a ray-tracer model with a spectral formulation that is safe against numerical instabilities due to caustics. The global model integrates the linearized primitive equations to obtain solar tides (STs), with a seasonally dependent reference climatology, forced by a climatological daily cycle of the tropospheric and stratospheric heating, and the (instantaneous) GW momentum and buoyancy flux convergences resulting from the ray tracer. Under a more conventional "single-column" approximation, where GWs only propagate vertically and do not respond to horizontal gradients of the resolved flow, GW impacts are shown to be significantly changed in comparison with "full" experiments, leading to significant differences in ST amplitudes and phases, pointing at a sensitive issue of GW parameterizations in general. In the full experiment, significant semidiurnal STs arise even if the tidal model is only forced by diurnal heating rates. This indicates that an important part of the tidal signal is forced directly by GWs via their momentum and buoyancy deposition. In general, the effect of horizontal GW propagation and the GW response to horizontal large-scale flow gradients is rather observed in nonmigrating than in migrating tidal components.

High density phase transitions in a 4-dimensional Nambu-dona-Lasinio model containing a single symmetry breaking order parameter coming from the fermion-antifermion condensates are researched and expounded by means of both the gap equation and the effective potential approach. The phase transitions are proven to be second-order at a high temperature T; however at T = 0 they are first- or second-order, depending on whether A/m(0), the ratio of the momentum cutoff A in the fermion-loop integrals to the dynamical fermion mass m(0) at zero temperature, is lessthan 3.387 or not. The former condition cannot be satisfied in some models. The discussions further show complete effectiveness of the critical analysis based on the gap equation for second order phase transitions including determination of the condition of their occurrence.

High density phase transitions in a 4-dimensional Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model containing a single symmetry breaking order parameter coming from the fermion-antifermion condensates are researched and expounded by means of both the gap equation and the effective potential approach. The phase transitions are proven to be second-order at a high temperature T; however at T = 0 they are first- or second-order, depending on whether A/m(0), the ratio of the momentum cutoff A in the fermion-loop integrals to the dynamicalfermion mass m(0) at zero temperature, is less than 3.387 or not. The former condition cannot be satisfied in some models. The discussions further show complete effectiveness of the critical analysis based on the gap equation for second order phase transitions including determination of the condition of their occurrence.

Full Text Available Abstract Uncovering the mechanisms that regulate dendritic spine morphology has been limited, in part, by the lack of efficient and unbiased methods for analyzing spines. Here, we describe an automated 3D spine morphometry method and its application to spine remodeling in live neurons and spine abnormalities in a disease model. We anticipate that this approach will advance studies of synapse structure and function in brain development, plasticity, and disease.

Abstract Uncovering the mechanisms that regulate dendritic spine morphology has been limited, in part, by the lack of efficient and unbiased methods for analyzing spines. Here, we describe an automated 3D spine morphometry method and its application to spine remodeling in live neurons and spine abnormalities in a disease model. We anticipate that this approach will advance studies of synapse structure and function in brain development, plasticity, and disease.

Full Text Available During developmental stages, biomechanical stimuli on cardiac cells modulate genetic programs, and deviations from normal stimuli can lead to cardiac defects. Therefore, it is important to characterize normal cardiac biomechanical stimuli during early developmental stages. Using the chicken embryo model of cardiac development, we focused on characterizing biomechanical stimuli on the Hamburger-Hamilton (HH 18 chick cardiac outflow tract (OFT, the distal portion of the heart from which a large portion of defects observed in humans originate. To characterize biomechanical stimuli in the OFT, we used a combination of in vivo optical coherence tomography (OCT imaging, physiological measurements and computational fluid dynamics (CFD modeling. We found that, at HH18, the proximal portion of the OFT wall undergoes larger circumferential strains than its distal portion, while the distal portion of the OFT wall undergoes larger wall stresses. Maximal wall shear stresses were generally found on the surface of endocardial cushions, which are protrusions of extracellular matrix onto the OFT lumen that later during development give rise to cardiac septa and valves. The non-uniform spatial and temporal distributions of stresses and strains in the OFT walls provide biomechanical cues to cardiac cells that likely aid in the extensive differential growth and remodeling patterns observed during normal development.

Techniques for managing respiration during imaging and planning of radiation therapy are reviewed, concentrating on free-breathing (4D) approaches. First, we focus on detailing the historical development and basic operational principles of currently-available “first generation” 4D imaging modalities: 4D computed tomography, 4D cone beam computed tomography, 4D magnetic resonance imaging, and 4D positron emission tomography. Features and limitations of these first generation systems are described, including necessity of breathing surrogates for 4D image reconstruction, assumptions made in acquisition and reconstruction about the breathing pattern, and commonly-observed artifacts. Both established and developmental methods to deal with these limitations are detailed. Finally, strategies to construct 4D targets and images and, alternatively, to compress 4D information into static targets and images for radiation therapy planning are described. PMID:22784929

A new series of 5-methyl-thiazolo[5,4-d]pyrimidine-7-ones bearing different substituents at position 2 (aryl, heteroaryl and arylamino groups) was synthesized and evaluated in radioligand binding assays to determine their affinities at the human (h) A1, A2A, and A3 adenosine receptors (ARs). Efficacy at the hA(2B) and antagonism of selected ligands at the hA3 were also assessed through cAMP experiments. Some of the new derivatives exhibited good to high hA3AR affinity and selectivity versus all the other AR subtypes. Compound 2-(4-chlorophenyl)-5-methyl-thiazolo[5,4-d]pyrimidine-7-one 4 was found to be the most potent and selective ligand of the series (K(I) hA3 = 18 nM). Molecular docking studies of the reported derivatives were carried out to depict their hypothetical binding mode in our hA3 receptor model.

Purpose: To estimate full field-of-view abdominal respiratory motion from fast 2D image navigators using a 4D-MRI based motion model. This will allow for radiation dose accumulation mapping during MR-Linac treatment. Methods: Experiments were conducted on a Philips Ingenia 1.5T MRI. First, a retrospectively ordered 4D-MRI was constructed using 3D transient-bSSFP with radial in-plane sampling. Motion fields were calculated through 3D non-rigid registration. From these motion fields a PCA-based abdominal motion model was constructed and used to warp a 3D reference volume to fast 2D cine-MR image navigators that can be used for real-time tracking. To test this procedure, a time-series consisting of two interleaved orthogonal slices (sagittal and coronal), positioned on the pancreas or kidneys, were acquired for 1m38s (dynamic scan-time=0.196ms), during normal, shallow, or deep breathing. The coronal slices were used to update the optimal weights for the first two PCA components, in order to warp the 3D reference image and construct a dynamic 4D-MRI time-series. The interleaved sagittal slices served as an independent measure to test the model’s accuracy and fit. Spatial maps of the root-mean-squared error (RMSE) and histograms of the motion differences within the pancreas and kidneys were used to evaluate the method. Results: Cranio-caudal motion was accurately calculated within the pancreas using the model for normal and shallow breathing with an RMSE of 1.6mm and 1.5mm and a histogram median and standard deviation below 0.2 and 1.7mm, respectively. For deep-breathing an underestimation of the inhale amplitude was observed (RMSE=4.1mm). Respiratory-induced antero-posterior and lateral motion were correctly mapped (RMSE=0.6/0.5mm). Kidney motion demonstrated good motion estimation with RMSE-values of 0.95 and 2.4mm for the right and left kidney, respectively. Conclusion: We have demonstrated a method that can calculate dynamic 3D abdominal motion in a large volume

We consider a 5D BPS dilatonic two brane model which reduces to the Randall-Sundrum model or the Horava-Witten theory for a particular choice of parameters. Recently new dynamical solutions were found by Chen et al., which describe a moduli instability of the warped geometry. Using a 4D effective theory derived by solving the 5D equations of motion, based on the gradient expansion method, we show that the exact solution of Chen et. al. can be reproduced within the 4D effective theory and we identify the origin of the moduli instability. We revisit the gradient expansion method with a new metric ansatz to clarify why the 4D effective theory solution can be lifted back to an exact 5D solution. Finally we argue against a recent claim that the 4D effective theory allows a much wider class of solutions than the 5D theory and provide a way to lift solutions in the 4D effective theory to 5D solutions perturbatively in terms of small velocities of the branes.

Bone density is controlled by interactions between osteoclasts, which resorb bone, and osteoblasts, which deposit it. The semaphorins and their receptors, the plexins, originally shown to function in the immune system and to provide chemotactic cues for axon guidance, are now known to play a role in this process as well. Emerging data have identified Semaphorin 4D (Sema4D) as a product of osteoclasts acting through its receptor Plexin-B1 on osteoblasts to inhibit their function, tipping the balance of bone homeostasis in favor of resorption. Breast cancers and other epithelial malignancies overexpress Sema4D, so we theorized that tumor cells could be exploiting this pathway to establish lytic skeletal metastases. Here, we use measurements of osteoblast and osteoclast differentiation and function in vitro and a mouse model of skeletal metastasis to demonstrate that both soluble Sema4D and protein produced by the breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231 inhibits differentiation of MC3T3 cells, an osteoblast cell line, and their ability to form mineralized tissues, while Sema4D-mediated induction of IL-8 and LIX/CXCL5, the murine homologue of IL-8, increases osteoclast numbers and activity. We also observe a decrease in the number of bone metastases in mice injected with MDA-MB-231 cells when Sema4D is silenced by RNA interference. These results are significant because treatments directed at suppression of skeletal metastases in bone-homing malignancies usually work by arresting bone remodeling, potentially leading to skeletal fragility, a significant problem in patient management. Targeting Sema4D in these cancers would not affect bone remodeling and therefore could elicit an improved therapeutic result without the debilitating side effects.

Full Text Available Bone density is controlled by interactions between osteoclasts, which resorb bone, and osteoblasts, which deposit it. The semaphorins and their receptors, the plexins, originally shown to function in the immune system and to provide chemotactic cues for axon guidance, are now known to play a role in this process as well. Emerging data have identified Semaphorin 4D (Sema4D as a product of osteoclasts acting through its receptor Plexin-B1 on osteoblasts to inhibit their function, tipping the balance of bone homeostasis in favor of resorption. Breast cancers and other epithelial malignancies overexpress Sema4D, so we theorized that tumor cells could be exploiting this pathway to establish lytic skeletal metastases. Here, we use measurements of osteoblast and osteoclast differentiation and function in vitro and a mouse model of skeletal metastasis to demonstrate that both soluble Sema4D and protein produced by the breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231 inhibits differentiation of MC3T3 cells, an osteoblast cell line, and their ability to form mineralized tissues, while Sema4D-mediated induction of IL-8 and LIX/CXCL5, the murine homologue of IL-8, increases osteoclast numbers and activity. We also observe a decrease in the number of bone metastases in mice injected with MDA-MB-231 cells when Sema4D is silenced by RNA interference. These results are significant because treatments directed at suppression of skeletal metastases in bone-homing malignancies usually work by arresting bone remodeling, potentially leading to skeletal fragility, a significant problem in patient management. Targeting Sema4D in these cancers would not affect bone remodeling and therefore could elicit an improved therapeutic result without the debilitating side effects.

How do the discourses of participation inform deployment of information and communication technologies for development (ICT4D)? Discourses here mean narratives that assign roles to actors, and specify causes and outcomes for events. Based on the theory and practice of international development we...... identify two dimensions to participation and ICT4D: whether participation 1) is hierarchical/top-down or agent-driven/bottom-up, and 2) involves conflict or cooperation. Based on these dimensions we articulate four ideal types of discourse that permeate ICT and development efforts: stakeholder......-based discourses that emphasize consensus, networked efforts among actors collaborating in network arrangements, mobilization discourses that account for contestation over meanings of participation, and oppositional discourses from ׳grassroots׳ actors that also include conflict. We conclude that ICT4D efforts...

Global 4-D trajectory(x,y,z,t)is optimized for a spacecraft,which is launched from the Earth to fly around the Sun,just as star-drift of 1437 asteroids in the solar system.The spacecraft trajectory is controlled by low thrust.The performance index of optimal trajectory is to maximize the rendezvous times with the intermediate asteroids,and also maximize the final mass.This paper provides a combined algorithm of global 4-D trajectory optimization.The algorithm is composed of dynamic programming and two-point-boundary algorithm based on optimal control theory.The best 4-D trajectory is obtained:the spacecraft flies passing 55 asteroids,and rendezvous with(following or passing again)asteroids for 454 days,and finally rendezvous with the asteroid 2005SN25 on the day 60521(MJD),the final mass of the spacecraft is 836.53 kg.

3D bioprinting has been developed to effectively and rapidly pattern living cells and biomaterials, aiming to create complex bioconstructs. However, placing biocompatible materials or cells into direct contact via bioprinting is necessary but insufficient for creating these constructs. Therefore, '4D bioprinting' has emerged recently, where 'time' is integrated with 3D bioprinting as the fourth dimension, and the printed objects can change their shapes or functionalities when an external stimulus is imposed or when cell fusion or postprinting self-assembly occurs. In this review, we highlight recent developments in 4D bioprinting technology. Additionally, we review the uses of 4D bioprinting in tissue engineering and drug delivery. Finally, we discuss the major roadblocks to this approach, together with possible solutions, to provide future perspectives on this technology.

This book contains short recipes designed to effectively teach tools in the minimum amount of time. Each recipe hits on a topic that can be combined or incorporated with other recipes to give you the building blocks you need to start making great designs with Cinema 4D. Rather than demonstrating how to make a few specific and extensive projects, the recipes create a solid base of knowledge to help the reader understand the tools available to foster their own creativity. This book is for anyone who wants to quickly get up to speed with Cinema 4D to create 3D projects that run laps around simple

To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Nobel Prize for Femtochemistry,the field is overviewed with several classic examples and the new extension to Femtobiology. The revolutionary breakthrough in 4D electron microscopy is briefly introduced here and a new age to structural dynamics is rising on the horizon,an exciting time and a great opportunity for China and for the world.

As with other Western Boundary Currents globally, the East Australian Current (EAC) is highly variable making it a challenge to model and predict. For the EAC region, we combine a high-resolution state-of-the-art numerical ocean model with a variety of traditional and newly available observations using an advanced variational data assimilation scheme. The numerical model is configured using the Regional Ocean Modelling System (ROMS 3.4) and takes boundary forcing from the BlueLink ReANalysis (BRAN3). For the data assimilation, we use an Incremental Strong-Constraint 4-Dimensional Variational (IS4D-Var) scheme, which uses the model dynamics to perturb the initial conditions, atmospheric forcing, and boundary conditions, such that the modelled ocean state better fits and is in balance with the observations. This paper describes the data assimilative model configuration that achieves a significant reduction of the difference between the modelled solution and the observations to give a dynamically consistent "best estimate" of the ocean state over a 2-year period. The reanalysis is shown to represent both assimilated and non-assimilated observations well. It achieves mean spatially averaged root mean squared (rms) residuals with the observations of 7.6 cm for sea surface height (SSH) and 0.4 °C for sea surface temperature (SST) over the assimilation period. The time-mean rms residual for subsurface temperature measured by Argo floats is a maximum of 0.9 °C between water depths of 100 and 300 m and smaller throughout the rest of the water column. Velocities at several offshore and continental shelf moorings are well represented in the reanalysis with complex correlations between 0.8 and 1 for all observations in the upper 500 m. Surface radial velocities from a high-frequency radar array are assimilated and the reanalysis provides surface velocity estimates with complex correlations with observed velocities of 0.8-1 across the radar footprint. A comparison with

This book is written in a Cookbook style with short recipes designed to effectively teach tools in the minimum amount of time. Each recipe hits on a topic that can be combined or incorporated with other recipes to give you the building blocks you need to start making great designs with Cinema 4D. Rather than demonstrating how to make a few specific and extensive projects, the recipes create a solid base of knowledge to help the reader understand the tools available to foster their own creativity.This book is for professional artists working in architecture, design, production, or games and wan

aerosols showing a large vertical spread, and other continental and marine aerosols which are confined in the boundary layer. From this compilation, we propose a 4-D blended product from model and satellite data, consisting in monthly time series of 3-D aerosol distribution at a 50 km horizontal resolution over the Euro-Mediterranean marine and continental region for the 2003-2009 period. The product is based on the total AOD from AQUA/MODIS, apportioned into sulfates, black and organic carbon from the MACC reanalysis, and into dust and sea-salt aerosols from RegCM-4 simulations, which are distributed vertically based on CALIOP climatology.We extend the 2003-2009 reconstruction to the past up to 1979 using the 2003-2009 average and applying the decreasing trend in sulfate aerosols from LMDz-OR-INCA, whose AOD trends over Europe and the Mediterranean are median among the ACCMIP models. Finally optical properties of the different aerosol types in this region are proposed from Mie calculations so that this reconstruction can be included in regional climate models for aerosol radiative forcing and aerosol-climate studies.

dust aerosols showing a large vertical spread, and other continental and marine aerosols which are confined in the boundary layer. From this compilation, we propose a 4-D blended product from model and satellite data, consisting in monthly time series of 3-D aerosol distribution at a 50 km horizontal resolution over the Euro-Mediterranean marine and continental region for the 2003–2009 period. The product is based on the total AOD from AQUA/MODIS, apportioned into sulfates, black and organic carbon from the MACC reanalysis, and into dust and sea-salt aerosols from RegCM-4 simulations, which are distributed vertically based on CALIOP climatology. We extend the 2003–2009 reconstruction to the past up to 1979 using the 2003–2009 average and applying the decreasing trend in sulfate aerosols from LMDz-OR-INCA, whose AOD trends over Europe and the Mediterranean are median among the ACCMIP models. Finally optical properties of the different aerosol types in this region are proposed from Mie calculations so that this reconstruction can be included in regional climate models for aerosol radiative forcing and aerosol-climate studies.

boundary layer. From this compilation, we propose a 4-D blended product from model and satellite data, consisting in monthly time series of 3-D aerosol distribution at a 50 km horizontal resolution over the Euro-Mediterranean marine and continental region for the 2003–2009 period. The product is based on the total AOD from AQUA/MODIS, apportioned into sulfates, black and organic carbon from the MACC reanalysis, and into dust and sea-salt aerosols from RegCM-4 simulations, which are distributed vertically based on CALIOP climatology. We extend the 2003–2009 reconstruction to the past up to 1979 using the 2003–2009 average and applying the decreasing trend in sulfate aerosols from the LMDz-OR-INCA model, based on the recent emission reconstruction proposed by Lamarque et al. (2010. Finally optical properties of the different aerosol types in this region are proposed from the literature so that this reconstruction can be included in regional climate models for aerosol radiative forcing and aerosol-climate studies.

This work presents a group of assessment metrics of new 4D MRI flow sequences, an imaging modality that allows for visualization of three-dimensional pulsatile flow in the cardiovascular anatomy through time-resolved three-dimensional blood velocity measurements from cardiac-cycle synchronized MRI acquisition. This is a promising tool for clinical assessment but lacks a robust validation framework. First, 4D-MRI flow in a subject's stenotic carotid bifurcation is compared with a patient-specific CFD model using two different boundary condition methods. Second, Particle Image Velocimetry in a patient-specific phantom is used as a benchmark to compare the 4D-MRI in vivo measurements and CFD simulations under the same conditions. Comparison of estimated and measureable flow parameters such as wall shear stress, fluctuating velocity rms, Lagrangian particle residence time, will be discussed, with justification for their biomechanics relevance and the insights they can provide on the pathophysiology of arterial disease: atherosclerosis and intimal hyperplasia. Lastly, the framework is applied to a new sequence to provide a quantitative assessment. A parametric analysis on the carotid bifurcation pulsatile flow conditions will be presented and an accuracy assessment provided.

The phosphodiesterase 4D (PDE4D) gene has been reported as a risk gene for ischemic stroke. The vascular factors are between the hypothesized etiologies of sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL), and this genetic effect might be attributed for its role in SSNHL. We hypothesized that genetic variants of the PDE4D gene are associated with susceptibility to SSNHL. We conducted a case-control study with 362 SSNHL cases and 209 controls. Three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were selected. The genotypes were determined using TaqMan technology. Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) was tested for each SNP, and genetic effects were evaluated according to three inheritance modes. We carried out sex-specific analysis to analyze the overall data. All three SNPs were in HWE. When subjects were stratified by sex, the genetic effect was only evident in females but not in males. The TT genotype of rs702553 exhibited an adjusted odds ratio (OR) of 3.83 (95 % confidence interval = 1.46-11.18) (p = 0.006) in female SSNHL. The TT genotype of SNP rs702553 was associated with female SSNHL under the recessive model (p = 0.004, OR 3.70). In multivariate logistic regression analysis, TT genotype of rs702553 was significantly associated with female SSNHL (p = 0.0043, OR 3.70). These results suggest that PDE4D gene polymorphisms influence the susceptibility for the development of SSNHL in the southern Taiwanese female population.

In this article, we discuss the use of Pellerin's Four Dimension Leadership System (4-D) as a way to manage teams in a classroom setting. Over a 5-year period, we used a modified version of the 4-Dmodel to manage teams within a senior level Software Engineering capstone course. We found that this approach for team management in a classroom…

This paper studies urban waterlog-draining decision support system based on the 4D data fusion technique.4D data includes DEM,DOQ,DLG and DRG.It supplies entire databases for waterlog forecast and analysis together with non-spatial fundamental database.Data composition and reasoning are two key steps of 4D data fusion.Finally,this paper gives a real case: Ezhou Waterlog-Draining Decision Support System (EWDSS) with two application models,i.e.,DEM application model,water generating and draining model.

4D image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT) for free-breathing lungs is challenging due to the complicated respiratory dynamics. Effective modeling of respiratory motion is crucial to account for the motion affects on the dose to tumors. We propose a shape-correlated statistical model on dense image deformations for patient-specic respiratory motion estimation in 4D lung IGRT. Using the shape deformations of the high-contrast lungs as the surrogate, the statistical model trained from the plannin...

Full Text Available To resolve the problem of future airspace management under great traffic flow and high density condition, 4D trajectory estimation has become one of the core technologies of the next new generation air traffic control automation system. According to the flight profile and the dynamics models of different aircraft types under different flight conditions, a hybrid system model that switches the aircraft from one flight stage to another with aircraft state changing continuously in one state is constructed. Additionally, air temperature and wind speed are used to modify aircraft true airspeed as well as ground speed, and the hybrid system evolution simulation is used to estimate aircraft 4D trajectory. The case study proves that 4D trajectory estimated through hybrid system model can image the flight dynamic states of aircraft and satisfy the needs of the planned flight altitude profile.KEY WORDSair traffic management, 4D trajectory estimation, hybrid system model, aircraft dynamic model

The authors develop a unique CT simulation tool based on the 4D extended cardiac-torso (XCAT) phantom, a whole-body computer model of the human anatomy and physiology based on NURBS surfaces. Unlike current phantoms in CT based on simple mathematical primitives, the 4D XCAT provides an accurate representation of the complex human anatomy and has the advantage, due to its design, that its organ shapes can be changed to realistically model anatomical variations and patient motion. A disadvantage to the NURBS basis of the XCAT, however, is that the mathematical complexity of the surfaces makes the calculation of line integrals through the phantom difficult. They have to be calculated using iterative procedures; therefore, the calculation of CT projections is much slower than for simpler mathematical phantoms. To overcome this limitation, the authors used efficient ray tracing techniques from computer graphics, to develop a fast analytic projection algorithm to accurately calculate CT projections directly from the surface definition of the XCAT phantom given parameters defining the CT scanner and geometry. Using this tool, realistic high-resolution 3D and 4D projection images can be simulated and reconstructed from the XCAT within a reasonable amount of time. In comparison with other simulators with geometrically defined organs, the XCAT-based algorithm was found to be only three times slower in generating a projection data set of the same anatomical structures using a single 3.2 GHz processor. To overcome this decrease in speed would, therefore, only require running the projection algorithm in parallel over three processors. With the ever decreasing cost of computers and the rise of faster processors and multi-processor systems and clusters, this slowdown is basically inconsequential, especially given the vast improvement the XCAT offers in terms of realism and the ability to generate 3D and 4D data from anatomically diverse patients. As such, the authors conclude

Full text. Sakai and Sugimoto authored one of the most successful string top-down models in describing real QCD, the D4-D8 brane model of holographic QCD. This model succeeds in exhibiting chiral symmetry breaking and confinement.A drawback of this model is that all massive hadrons have their masses set by the Kaluza-Klein compactification scale and we would have to work at energy scales below 1 GeV in order to describe a four dimensional physics. Still, they were able to find pion form factors and pion in agreement with experiment at scale of 1 GeV and above. They also calculate pion quadratic square radius in check with experiment, from a formula that depends on the entire Kaluza-Klein tower of excited pion states. Their model also realizes vector meson dominance (VMD) in electromagnetic interaction as proposed by Sakurai in the sixties. 5D gauge fields from flavor symmetry provides a zoo of mesons (scalar, pseudo-scalar, vector and pseudo-vector) and instanton configurations of such fields are interpreted as baryon fields. Inspired by the results of pion form factors and pion quadratic radius predicted in close agreement with experiment, we further calculate vector and axial vector mesons {psi}(z) wave functions, form factors, we discuss about its Q{sup -2} power behavior at large virtuosity (Q{sup 2}), and we check necessary relations between coupling constants and masses (superconvergence) that grants such power behavior of form factors. We compare our results with what is found in bottom-up hard wall and soft wall models and discuss the problems of the D4-D8 model. (author)

We evaluated and proposed here a 4D maximum a posteriori rescaled-block iterative (MAP-RBI)-EM image reconstruction method with a motion prior to improve the accuracy of 4D gated myocardial perfusion (GMP) SPECT images. We hypothesized that a 4D motion prior which resembles the global motion of the true 4D motion of the heart will improve the accuracy of the reconstructed images with regional myocardial motion defect. Normal heart model in the 4D XCAT (eXtended CArdiac-Torso) phantom is used as the prior in the 4D MAP-RBI-EM algorithm where a Gaussian-shaped distribution is used as the derivative of potential function (DPF) that determines the smoothing strength and range of the prior in the algorithm. The mean and width of the DPF equal to the expected difference between the reconstructed image and the motion prior, and smoothing range, respectively. To evaluate the algorithm, we used simulated projection data from a typical clinical {sup 99m}Tc Sestamibi GMP SPECT study using the 4D XCAT phantom. The noise-free projection data were generated using an analytical projector that included the effects of attenuation, collimator-detector response and scatter (ADS) and Poisson noise was added to generated noisy projection data. The projection datasets were reconstructed using the modified 4D MAP-RBI-EM with various iterations, prior weights, and sigma values as well as with ADS correction. The results showed that the 4D reconstructed image estimates looked more like the motion prior with sharper edges as the weight of prior increased. It also demonstrated that edge preservation of the myocardium in the GMP SPECT images could be controlled by a proper motion prior. The Gaussian-shaped DPF allowed stronger and weaker smoothing force for smaller and larger difference of neighboring voxel values, respectively, depending on its parameter values. We concluded the 4D MAP-RBI-EM algorithm with the general motion prior can be used to provide 4D GMP SPECT images with improved

4-D seismic has the potential to monitor hydrocarbon movement in reservoirs during production, and could thereby supplement the predictions of reservoir parameters offered by the reservoir simulator. However 4-D seismic is often more band limited than the vertical resolution required in the reservoir model. As a consequence the seismic data holds a composite response from reservoir parameter changes during production so that the inversion becomes non-unique. A procedure where data from the reservoir model are integrated with seismic data will be presented. The potential of such a procedure is demonstrated through a case study from a recent 4-D survey over the Gullfaks field. 2 figs.

achievable with short intense pulses containing a large number of electrons, however, are limited to tens of nanometers and nanoseconds, respectively. This is because Coulomb repulsion is significant in such a pulse, and the electrons spread in space and time, thus limiting the beam coherence. It is therefore not possible to image the ultrafast elementary dynamics of complex transformations. The challenge was to retain the high spatial resolution of a conventional TEM while simultaneously enabling the temporal resolution required to visualize atomic-scale motions. In this Account, we discuss the development of four-dimensional ultrafast electron microscopy (4D UEM) and summarize techniques and applications that illustrate the power of the approach. In UEM, images are obtained either stroboscopically with coherent single-electron packets or with a single electron bunch. Coulomb repulsion is absent under the single-electron condition, thus permitting imaging, diffraction, and spectroscopy, all with high spatiotemporal resolution, the atomic scale (sub-nanometer and femtosecond). The time resolution is limited only by the laser pulse duration and energy carried by the electron packets; the CCD camera has no bearing on the temporal resolution. In the regime of single pulses of electrons, the temporal resolution of picoseconds can be attained when hundreds of electrons are in the bunch. The applications given here are selected to highlight phenomena of different length and time scales, from atomic motions during structural dynamics to phase transitions and nanomechanical oscillations. We conclude with a brief discussion of emerging methods, which include scanning ultrafast electron microscopy (S-UEM), scanning transmission ultrafast electron microscopy (ST-UEM) with convergent beams, and time-resolved imaging of biological structures at ambient conditions with environmental cells.

Purpose: The authors develop the 4D extended cardiac-torso (XCAT) phantom for multimodality imaging research. Methods: Highly detailed whole-body anatomies for the adult male and female were defined in the XCAT using nonuniform rational B-spline (NURBS) and subdivision surfaces based on segmentation of the Visible Male and Female anatomical datasets from the National Library of Medicine as well as patient datasets. Using the flexibility of these surfaces, the Visible Human anatomies were transformed to match body measurements and organ volumes for a 50th percentile (height and weight) male and female. The desired body measurements for the models were obtained using the PEOPLESIZE program that contains anthropometric dimensions categorized from 1st to the 99th percentile for US adults. The desired organ volumes were determined from ICRP Publication 89 [ICRP, ''Basic anatomical and physiological data for use in radiological protection: reference values,'' ICRP Publication 89 (International Commission on Radiological Protection, New York, NY, 2002)]. The male and female anatomies serve as standard templates upon which anatomical variations may be modeled in the XCAT through user-defined parameters. Parametrized models for the cardiac and respiratory motions were also incorporated into the XCAT based on high-resolution cardiac- and respiratory-gated multislice CT data. To demonstrate the usefulness of the phantom, the authors show example simulation studies in PET, SPECT, and CT using publicly available simulation packages. Results: As demonstrated in the pilot studies, the 4D XCAT (which includes thousands of anatomical structures) can produce realistic imaging data when combined with accurate models of the imaging process. With the flexibility of the NURBS surface primitives, any number of different anatomies, cardiac or respiratory motions or patterns, and spatial resolutions can be simulated to perform imaging research. Conclusions: With the

This paper presents chaos synchronization between two different four-dimensional (4D) hyperchaotic Chen systems by nonlinear feedback control laws.A modified 4D hyperchaotic Chen system is obtained by changing the nonlinear function of the 4D hyperchaotic Chen system,furthermore,an electronic circuit to realize two different 4D hyperchaotic Chen systems is designed.With nonlinear feedback control method,chaos synchronization between two different 4D hyperchaotic Chen systems is achieved.Based on the stability theory,the functions of the nonlinear feedback control for synchronization of two different 4D hyperchaotic Chen systems is derived,the range of feedback gains is determined.Numerical simulations are shown to verify the theoretical results.

This paper describes efforts aimed at more objectively and accurately quantifying the local, regional and global function of the left ventricle (LV) of the heart from 4D image data. Using our shape-based image analysis methods, point-wise myocardial motion vector fields between successive image frames through the entire cardiac cycle will be computed. Quantitative LV motion, thickening, and strain measurements will then be established from the point correspondence maps. In the paper, we will also briefly describe an in vivo experimental model which uses implanted imaging-opaque markers to validate the results of our image analysis methods. Finally, initial experimental results using image sequences from two different modalities will be presented.

Full Text Available The mechanical components of the heart, especially the valves and leaflets, are enormous stressed during lifetime. Therefore, those structures undergo different pathophysiological tissue transformations which affect cardiac output and in consequence living comfort of affected patients. These changes may lead to calcific aortic valve stenosis (AVS, the major heart valve disease in humans. The knowledge about changes of the dynamic behaviour during the course of this disease and the possibility of early stage diagnosis is of particular interest and could lead to the development of new treatment strategies and drug based options of prevention or therapy. 4D optical coherence tomography (OCT in combination with high-speed video microscopy were applied to characterize dynamic behaviour of the murine aortic valve and to characterize dynamic properties during artificial stimulation. We present a promising tool to investigate the aortic valve dynamics in an ex vivo disease model with a high spatial and temporal resolution using a multimodal imaging setup.

In-situ monitoring of infiltration, water flow and retention in the vadose zone currently rely primarily on invasive methods, which irreversibly disturb original soil structure and alter its hydrologic behavior in the vicinity of the measurement. For example, use of lysimeters requires extraction and repacking of soil samples, and time- domain reflectometry (TDR) requires insertion of probes into the soil profile. This study investigates the use of repeated high-density 3D ground penetrating radar surveys (also known as 4D GPR) as a non-invasive alternative for detailed visualization and quantification of water flow in the vadose zone. Evaluation of the 4D GPR method was based on a series of controlled point-source water injection experiments into undisturbed beach sand deposits at Crandon Park in Miami, Florida. The goal of the GPR surveys was to image the shape and evolution of a wet-bulb as it propagates from the injection points (~0.5 m) towards the water table at 2.2 m depth. The experimental design was guided by predictive modeling using Hydrus 2D and finite-difference GPR waveform codes. Input parameters for the modeling were derived from hydrologic and electromagnetic characterization of representative sand samples. Guided by modeling results, we injected 30 to 40 liters of tap water through plastic-cased boreholes with slotted bottom sections (0.1 m) located 0.4 to 0.6 m below the surface. During and after injection, an area of 25 m2 was surveyed every 20 minutes using 250 and 500 MHz antennas with a grid spacing of 0.05 x 0.025 m. A total of 20 3D GPR surveys were completed over 3 infiltration sites. To confirm wet-bulb shapes measured by GPR, we injected 2 liters of "brilliant blue" dye (~100 mg/l) along with a saline water tracer towards the end of one experiment. After completion of GPR scanning, a trench was excavated to examine the distribution of the saltwater and dye using TDR and visual inspection, respectively. Preliminary analysis of the 4D GPR

A clinical trial named PROMETHEUS is currently ongoing for inoperable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) at the Heidelberg Ion Beam Therapy Center (HIT, Germany). In this framework, 4D PET-CT datasets are acquired shortly after the therapeutic treatment to compare the irradiation induced PET image with a Monte Carlo PET prediction resulting from the simulation of treatment delivery. The extremely low count statistics of this measured PET image represents a major limitation of this technique, especially in presence of target motion. The purpose of the study is to investigate two different 4D PET motion compensation strategies towards the recovery of the whole count statistics for improved image quality of the 4D PET-CT datasets for PET-based treatment verification. The well-known 4D-MLEM reconstruction algorithm, embedding the motion compensation in the reconstruction process of 4D PET sinograms, was compared to a recently proposed pre-reconstruction motion compensation strategy, which operates in sinogram domain by applying the motion compensation to the 4D PET sinograms. With reference to phantom and patient datasets, advantages and drawbacks of the two 4D PET motion compensation strategies were identified. The 4D-MLEM algorithm was strongly affected by inverse inconsistency of the motion model but demonstrated the capability to mitigate the noise-break-up effects. Conversely, the pre-reconstruction warping showed less sensitivity to inverse inconsistency but also more noise in the reconstructed images. The comparison was performed by relying on quantification of PET activity and ion range difference, typically yielding similar results. The study demonstrated that treatment verification of moving targets could be accomplished by relying on the whole count statistics image quality, as obtained from the application of 4D PET motion compensation strategies. In particular, the pre-reconstruction warping was shown to represent a promising choice when combined with intra

Psoriasis is a chronic T-cell-mediated autoimmune disease, and FMS-like tyrosine kinase 3 (FLT3) has been considered as a potential molecular target for the treatment of psoriasis. In this investigation, structural optimization was performed on a lead compound, 1-(4-(1H-pyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidin-4-yloxy)phenyl)-3-(4-chloro-3-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)urea (1), which showed a moderate inhibitory activity againt FLT3. A series of pyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidine derivatives were synthesized, and structure-activity relationship analysis led to the discovery of a number of potent FLT3 inhibitors. One of the most active compounds, 1-(4-(1H-pyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidin-4-yloxy)-3-fluorophenyl)-3-(5-tert-butylisoxazol-3-yl)urea (18b), was then chosen for in-depth antipsoriasis studies because this compound displayed the highest potency in a preliminary antipsoriasis test. Compound 18b exhibited significant antipsoriatic effects in the K14-VEGF transgenic mouse model of psoriasis, and no recurrence was found 15 days later after the last administration. Detailed mechanisms of action of compound 18b were also investigated. Collectively, compound 18b could be a potential drug candidate for psoriasis treatment.

... MINISTERS OF RELIGION § 1645.4 Exclusion from Class 4-D. A registrant is excluded from Class 4-D when his... duly ordained minister of religion in accordance with the ceremonial rite or discipline of a church... principles of religion and administer the ordinances of public worship, as embodied in the creed...

A smart valve is created by 4D printing of hydrogels that are both mechanically robust and thermally actuating. The printed hydrogels are made up of an interpenetrating network of alginate and poly(N-isopropylacrylamide). 4D structures are created by printing the "dynamic" hydrogel ink alongside other static materials.

Beyond ICT4D: New Media Research in Uganda is a collection of ethnographic reports from diverse perspectives of those living at the other end of the African ICT pyramid. Crucially, these texts refocus on the so-called "ICT4D" debate away from the standard western lens, which depicts users in the dev

Full Text Available This paper proposes a new cumulant-based algorithm to jointly estimate four-dimensional (4D source parameters of multiple near-field narrowband sources. Firstly, this approach proposes a new cross-array, and constructs five high-dimensional Toeplitz matrices using the fourth-order cumulants of some properly chosen sensor outputs; secondly, it forms a parallel factor (PARAFAC model in the cumulant domain using these matrices, and analyzes the unique low-rank decomposition of this model; thirdly, it jointly estimates the frequency, two-dimensional (2D directions-of-arrival (DOAs, and range of each near-field source from the matrices via the low-rank three-way array (TWA decomposition. In comparison with some available methods, the proposed algorithm, which efficiently makes use of the array aperture, can localize sources using sensors. In addition, it requires neither pairing parameters nor multidimensional search. Simulation results are presented to validate the performance of the proposed method.

Full Text Available This paper proposes a new cumulant-based algorithm to jointly estimate four-dimensional (4D source parameters of multiple near-field narrowband sources. Firstly, this approach proposes a new cross-array, and constructs five high-dimensional Toeplitz matrices using the fourth-order cumulants of some properly chosen sensor outputs; secondly, it forms a parallel factor (PARAFAC model in the cumulant domain using these matrices, and analyzes the unique low-rank decomposition of this model; thirdly, it jointly estimates the frequency, two-dimensional (2D directions-of-arrival (DOAs, and range of each near-field source from the matrices via the low-rank three-way array (TWA decomposition. In comparison with some available methods, the proposed algorithm, which efficiently makes use of the array aperture, can localize N−3 sources using N sensors. In addition, it requires neither pairing parameters nor multidimensional search. Simulation results are presented to validate the performance of the proposed method.

... livestock feeds will be similar to those in other forages, hays, and silages for which tolerances of 2,4-D... teff be substituted in the livestock diet for other hays and silages; residues in meat, milk,...

Full Text Available As project delivery approaches that are supported by Building Information Modelling (BIM are continuously acknowledged throughout the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC industry, an innovative modelling approach called 4D BIM is starting to develop, which associates elements of 3D BIM with time and scheduling information. Traditional construction planning applications like bar charts and network diagrams fail to present and communicate the spatial and temporal or 4D components of construction schedules efficiently. As a result, they do not permit project managers to produce scheduling alternatives quickly to obtain the finest solution to develop a particular design. With 4Dmodelling, the whole period of a sequence of activities that is executed by those involved in the project can be presented visually. With the rising interest in BIM and the wider use of this and other technological innovations in the AEC industry, 4D BIM tools, which has been broadly employed, is becoming increasingly recognized among fundamental technological fields under BIM. This study aims to highlight and review numerous impacts of 4D applications on Integrated Project Delivery (IPD on the AEC industry and suggest the ideal strategy to optimize the tools for rapid project delivery.

In this project, the response of a variational data assimilation system based on NEMO and its linear tangent and adjoint model is investigated using a 4DVAR algorithm into a North-Atlantic model at eddy-permitting resolution. The assimilated data consist of Jason-2 and SARAL/AltiKA dataset collected during the 2013-2014 period. The main objective is to explore the robustness of the 4DVAR algorithm in the context of a realistic turbulent oceanic circulation at mid-latitude constrained by multi-satellite altimetry missions. This work relies on two previous studies. First, a study with similar objectives was performed based on academic double-gyre turbulent model and synthetic SARAL/AltiKA data, using the same DA experimental framework. Its main goal was to investigate the impact of turbulence on variational DA methods performance. The comparison with this previous work will bring to light the methodological and physical issues encountered by variational DA algorithms in a realistic context at similar, eddy-permitting spatial resolution. We also have demonstrated how a dataset mimicking future SWOT observations improves 4DVAR incremental performances at eddy-permitting resolution. Then, in the context of the OSTST and FP7 SANGOMA projects, an ensemble DA experiment based on the same model and observational datasets has been realized (see poster by Brasseur et al.). This work offers the opportunity to compare efficiency, pros and cons of both DA methods in the context of KA-band altimetric data, at spatial resolution commonly used today for research and operational applications. In this poster we will present the validation plan proposed to evaluate the skill of variational experiment vs. ensemble assimilation experiments covering the same period using independent observations (e.g. from Cryosat-2 mission).

The diagnosis of an inflammatory myopathy is often established based on basic histologic studies. Additional immunohistochemical studies are sometimes required to support the diagnosis and the classification of inflammatory myopathies. Staining for major histocompatibility complex 1 (MHC1) often shows increased sarcolemmal labeling in inflammatory myopathies. Endomysial capillary staining C5b-9 (membrane attack complex) is a feature that is reported as frequently associated with dermatomyositis. Immunohistochemical staining for C4d is widely used for various applications including the assessment of antibody-mediated rejection after solid organ transplantation. In the context of dermatomyositis, C4d staining has been described in skin biopsies but not in muscle biopsies. A total of 32 muscle biopsy specimens were examined. The hematoxylin and eosin-stained slides were reviewed, and immunohistochemical studies for MHC1, C5b-9, and C4d were conducted. The staining observed for C5b-9 and C4d was compared. Overall, the staining pattern for C4d mirrored the one observed for C5b-9 in the examined muscle biopsy specimens. There was high and statistically significant (P<0.0001) correlation between the staining seen with these 2 antibodies. Both antibodies labeled the cytoplasm of degenerating necrotic myofibers. In addition, both antibodies showed distinct endomysial capillary labeling in a subset of dermatomyositis. Areas with perifascicular atrophy often exhibited the most prominent vascular labeling for C4d and C5b-9. In conclusion, C4d and C5b-9 show similar expression patterns in muscle biopsies of patients with inflammatory myopathies and both highlight the presence of vascular labeling associated with dermatomyositis. C4d antibodies are widely used and may offer an alternative for C5b-9 staining.

We describe the structural and electronic properties of graphene doped with substitutional impurities of 4d and 5d transition metals. The adsorption energies and distances for 4d and 5d metals in graphene show similar trends for the later groups in the periodic table, which are also well-known characteristics of 3d elements. However, along earlier groups the 4d impurities in graphene show very similar adsorption energies, distances and magnetic moments to the 5d ones, which can be related to the influence of the 4d and 5d lanthanide contraction. Surprisingly, within the manganese group, the total magnetic moment of 3 μB for manganese is reduced to 1 μB for technetium and rhenium. We find that compared with 3d elements, the larger size of the 4d and 5d elements causes a high degree of hybridization with the neighbouring carbon atoms, reducing spin splitting in the d levels. It seems that the magnetic adjustment of graphene could be significantly different if 4d or 5d impurities are used instead of 3d impurities.

The adsorption behavior of pesticide 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) in aqueous solution has been investigated using a hypercrosslinked polystyrene adsorbent (NDA-99) modified by dimethylamine group as well as a nonionic macroporous adsorbent (XAD-4). The Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models were employed to fit the experimental data to describe adsorption mechanism. It shows that NDA-99 resin exhibits an adsorption affinity for 2,4-D higher than XAD-4 resin owing to its exceptional micropore structure and the amine group of the hypercrosslinked matrix.Further studies indicate that the hydrogen bonding interaction and the stronger π-π conjugation play a significant role in the course of the adsorption of 2,4-D on NDA-99 resin, which is in agreement with the IR spectroscopic results and the AE values of HOMO (the highest occupied molecular orbit) of adsorbent and LUMO (the lowest unoccupied molecular orbit) of adsorbate calculated from the MINDO/3 model.

We reformulate the scattering amplitudes of 4D flat space gauge theory and gravity in the language of a 2D CFT on the celestial sphere. The resulting CFT structure exhibits an OPE constructed from 4D collinear singularities, as well as infinite-dimensional Kac-Moody and Virasoro algebras encoding the asymptotic symmetries of 4D flat space. We derive these results by recasting 4D dynamics in terms of a convenient foliation of flat space into 3D Euclidean AdS and Lorentzian dS geometries. Tree-level scattering amplitudes take the form of Witten diagrams for a continuum of (A)dS modes, which are in turn equivalent to CFT correlators via the (A)dS/CFT dictionary. The Ward identities for the 2D conserved currents are dual to 4D soft theorems, while the bulk-boundary propagators of massless (A)dS modes are superpositions of the leading and subleading Weinberg soft factors of gauge theory and gravity. In general, the massless (A)dS modes are 3D Chern-Simons gauge fields describing the soft, single helicity sectors of 4D gauge theory and gravity. Consistent with the topological nature of Chern-Simons theory, Aharonov-Bohm effects record the "tracks" of hard particles in the soft radiation, leading to a simple characterization of gauge and gravitational memories. Soft particle exchanges between hard processes define the Kac-Moody level and Virasoro central charge, which are thereby related to the 4D gauge coupling and gravitational strength in units of an infrared cutoff. Finally, we discuss a toy model for black hole horizons via a restriction to the Rindler region.

The fungal biomasses of Penicillium chrysogenum were used as raw materials to prepare the aminated adsorbent through chemical grafting of polyethylenimine (PEI) on the biomass surface. Due to the protonation of amine groups, the PEI-modified biomass was found to possess the zero point of {zeta} potential at pH 10.2, higher than the pristine biomass at pH 3.8. The aminated biosorbent was effective in removing anionic pentachlorophenol (PCP) and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) from aqueous solution. The sorption was pH-dependent and the sorption kinetic data were well described by the pseudo-second-order model. The sorption isotherms on the aminated biosorbent conformed to the Langmuir equation, with the maximum sorption capacity of 1.23 mmol/g for PCP and 1.22 mmol/g for 2,4-D. In the presence of Cu{sup 2+} or Pb{sup 2+}, the sorption capacities for both PCP and 2,4-D were further enhanced, attributed to the formation of surface complex. FTIR and {zeta} potential analysis before and after the sorption revealed that the amine groups on the biomass surface played an important role in the sorption of PCP and 2,4-D, due to the electrostatic interaction between the positive protonated amine groups and the negative PCP/2,4-D.

High-speed tracking of hot and molten microparticles in motion provides rich information about burning plasmas in magnetic fusion. An exploding-wire apparatus is used to produce moving high-temperature metallic microparticles and to develop four-dimensional (4D) or time-resolved 3D particle tracking techniques. The pinhole camera model and algorithms developed for computer vision are used for scene calibration and 4D reconstructions. 3D positions and velocities are then derived for different microparticles. Velocity resolution approaches 0.1 m/s by using the local constant velocity approximation.

We study the geometry of 4d N=1 SCFT's arising from compactification of 6d (1,0) SCFT's on a Riemann surface. We show that the conformal manifold of the resulting theory is characterized, in addition to moduli of complex structure of the Riemann surface, by the choice of a connection for a vector bundle on the surface arising from flavor symmetries in 6d. We exemplify this by considering the case of 4d N=1 SCFT's arising from M5 branes probing Z_k singularity compactified on a Riemann surface. In particular, we study in detail the four dimensional theories arising in the case of two M5 branes on Z_2 singularity. We compute the conformal anomalies and indices of such theories in 4d and find that they are consistent with expectations based on anomaly and the moduli structure derived from the 6 dimensional perspective.

Orthopedics and neurosciences are fields of medicine where the analysis of objective movement parameters is extremely important for clinical diagnosis. Moreover, as there are significant differences between static and dynamic parameters, there is a strong need of analyzing the anatomical structures under functional conditions. In clinical gait analysis the benefits of kinematical methods are undoubted. In this paper we present a 4D (3D + time) measurement system capable of automatic location of selected anatomical structures by locating and tracing the structures' position and orientation in time. The presented system is designed to help a general practitioner in diagnosing selected lower limbs' dysfunctions (e.g. knee injuries) and also determine if a patient should be directed for further examination (e.g. x-ray or MRI). The measurement system components are hardware and software. For the hardware part we adapt the laser triangulation method. In this way we can evaluate functional and dynamic movements in a contact-free, non-invasive way, without the use of potentially harmful radiation. Furthermore, opposite to marker-based video-tracking systems, no preparation time is required. The software part consists of a data acquisition module, an image processing and point clouds (point cloud, set of points described by coordinates (x, y, z)) calculation module, a preliminary processing module, a feature-searching module and an external biomechanical module. The paper briefly presents the modules mentioned above with the focus on the feature-searching module. Also we present some measurement and analysis results. These include: parameters maps, landmarks trajectories in time sequence and animation of a simplified model of lower limbs.

Enterococcus faecalis is considered a major bacterial pathogen implicated in endodontic infections and contributes considerably to periapical periodontitis. This study aimed to investigate the potential mechanisms by which E. faecalis accounts for the bone destruction in periapical periodontitis in vitro. Osteoclast precursor RAW264.7 cells were treated with E. faecalis ATCC 29212 and a wild strain of E. faecalis derived clinically from an infected root canal. The results showed that, to some extent, E. faecalis induced the RAW264.7 cells to form tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP)-positive multinucleated osteoclast-like cells. This pathogen markedly stimulated RAW264.7 cells to express semaphorin 4D (Sema4D), which inhibits bone formation. Once RAW264.7 cells were primed by low-dose receptor activator of nuclear factor-kappa B ligand (RANKL), E. faecalis could significantly increase the production of TRAP-positive multinucleated cells and up-regulate the expression of osteoclast-specific markers, including NFATc1, TRAP and cathepsin K. Both p38 and ERK1/2 MAPK signaling pathways were activated by E. faecalis in RANKL-primed RAW264.7 cells, and meanwhile the expression of Sema4D was highly increased. In conclusion, E. faecalis may greatly contribute to the bone resorption in periapical periodontitis by promoting RANKL-dependent osteoclastogenesis and expression of Sema4D through activation of p38 and ERK1/2 MAPK signaling pathways.

4D flow MRI allows for the measurement of a dynamic 3D velocity vector field. Blood flow velocities in large vascular territories can be qualitatively visualized with the added benefit of quantitative probing. Within cranial pathologies theorized to have vascular-based contributions or effects, 4D flow MRI provides a unique platform for comprehensive assessment of hemodynamic parameters. Targeted blood flow derived measurements, such as flow rate, pulsatility, retrograde flow, or wall shear stress may provide insight into the onset or characterization of more complex neuropathologies. Therefore, the thorough assessment of each parameter within the context of a given disease has important medical implications. Not surprisingly, the last decade has seen rapid growth in the use of 4D flow MRI. Data acquisition sequences are available to researchers on all major scanner platforms. However, the use has been limited mostly to small research trials. One major reason that has hindered the more widespread use and application in larger clinical trials is the complexity of the post-processing tasks and the lack of adequate tools for these tasks. Post-processing of 4D flow MRI must be semi-automated, fast, user-independent, robust, and reliably consistent for use in a clinical setting, within large patient studies, or across a multicenter trial. Development of proper post-processing methods coupled with systematic investigation in normal and patient populations pushes 4D flow MRI closer to clinical realization while elucidating potential underlying neuropathological origins. Within this framework, the work in this thesis assesses venous flow reproducibility and internal consistency in a healthy population. A preliminary analysis of venous flow parameters in healthy controls and multiple sclerosis patients is performed in a large study employing 4D flow MRI. These studies are performed in the context of the chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency hypothesis. Additionally, a

2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) is usually used as a refractory model compound that requires a prolonged reaction time for mineralization. In this study, we found that nickel oxide (NiO) significantly improved 2,4-D degradation and mineralization in reaction with ozone. Other metal oxides, such as titania, silica and alumina, were also tested in this reaction, so that, the mineralization degree was almost the same for all of them (ca. 25%), whereas NiO showed more than 60% in 1h. These outstanding results led us to study in more depth the role of NiO as catalyst in the degradation of 2,4-D. For instance, the optimum NiO loading amount was 0.3 g L(-1). The catalytic ozonation showed a high stability after three reaction cycles. With the aim of identifying the surface species responsible for the high activity of NiO, besides knowing the byproducts during the degradation of 2,4-D, XPS and HPLC were mainly used as analytical tools. According to the results, the mineralization of 2,4-D was directly influenced by the adsorbed chlorate organic compounds and oxalate group onto NiO. Therefore, NiO plays a true role as a catalyst forming surface compounds which are subsequently decomposed causing an increase in the mineralization efficiency. In addition, it was possible to identify several degradation byproducts (2,4-diclorophenol, glycolic, fumaric, maleic and oxalic acids) that were included in a rational reaction pathway. It was proposed that 2,4-D elimination in presence of NiO as catalyst is a combination of processes such as: conventional ozonation, indirect mechanism (OH) and surface complex formation.

The 2D:4D-Ratio, as an indirect measure of the fetal testosterone to estradiol ratio, is potentially very important for understanding and explaining different personality traits. It was the aim of the present study to replicate the findings from Fink et al. (2004) about the relation between individual differences in 2D:4D-Ratios and the Five Factor Model in different cultural groups. Therefore a sample of n = 78 Chinese and n = 370 German participants was recruited. Every participant provided hand scans of both hands, from which 2D:4D-Ratios were computed. Moreover, all participants filled in the NEO Five Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI). Significant sex differences were found for ratios of both hands in the expected direction, with females showing higher ratios than males. With respect to links between personality and the digit ratio, a positive association was observed between 2D:4D-Ratio and Neuroticism in females, as shown in the earlier study. These findings were observed in both female subsamples from China and Germany, as well as in the full sample of participants. But in contrast to the results for the whole and the German female sample, where 2D:4D-Ratio of both hands were related to Neuroticism, in the Chinese female sample only left hand 2D:4D-Ratio was significantly and positively related to Neuroticism. There were no significant correlations found in any of the male samples. Thus, prenatal exposure to sex steroids appears to influence the personality factor Neuroticism in females specifically. This finding potentially has implications for mental health, as Neuroticism has been shown to be a risk factor for various forms of psychopathology.

In conventional 4D positron emission tomography (4D-PET), images from different frames are reconstructed individually and aligned by registration methods. Two issues that arise with this approach are as follows: (1) the reconstruction algorithms do not make full use of projection statistics; and (2) the registration between noisy images can result in poor alignment. In this study, we investigated the use of simultaneous motion estimation and image reconstruction (SMEIR) methods for motion estimation/correction in 4D-PET. A modified ordered-subset expectation maximization algorithm coupled with total variation minimization (OSEM-TV) was used to obtain a primary motion-compensated PET (pmc-PET) from all projection data, using Demons derived deformation vector fields (DVFs) as initial motion vectors. A motion model update was performed to obtain an optimal set of DVFs in the pmc-PET and other phases, by matching the forward projection of the deformed pmc-PET with measured projections from other phases. The OSEM-TV image reconstruction was repeated using updated DVFs, and new DVFs were estimated based on updated images. A 4D-XCAT phantom with typical FDG biodistribution was generated to evaluate the performance of the SMEIR algorithm in lung and liver tumors with different contrasts and different diameters (10-40 mm). The image quality of the 4D-PET was greatly improved by the SMEIR algorithm. When all projections were used to reconstruct 3D-PET without motion compensation, motion blurring artifacts were present, leading up to 150% tumor size overestimation and significant quantitative errors, including 50% underestimation of tumor contrast and 59% underestimation of tumor uptake. Errors were reduced to less than 10% in most images by using the SMEIR algorithm, showing its potential in motion estimation/correction in 4D-PET.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the feasibility of using internal respiratory (IR) surrogates to sort four-dimensional (4D) magnetic resonance (MR) images. The 4D MR images were constructed by acquiring fast 2D cine MR images sequentially, with each slice scanned for more than one breathing cycle. The 4D volume was then sorted retrospectively using the IR signal. In this study, we propose to use multiple low-frequency components in the Fourier space as well as the anterior body boundary as potential IR surrogates. From these potential IR surrogates, we used a clustering algorithm to identify those that best represented the respiratory pattern to derive the IR signal. A study with healthy volunteers was performed to assess the feasibility of the proposed IR signal. We compared this proposed IR signal with the respiratory signal obtained using respiratory bellows. Overall, 99% of the IR signals matched the bellows signals. The average difference between the end inspiration times in the IR signal and bellows signal was 0.18 s in this cohort of matching signals. For the acquired images corresponding to the other 1% of non-matching signal pairs, the respiratory motion shown in the images was coherent with the respiratory phases determined by the IR signal, but not the bellows signal. This suggested that the IR signal determined by the proposed method could potentially correct the faulty bellows signal. The sorted 4D images showed minimal mismatched artefacts and potential clinical applicability. The proposed IR signal therefore provides a feasible alternative to effectively sort MR images in 4D.

In order to increase the productivity of construction industry,emerging technologies have been constantly introduced and applied in this traditional industry by pilot researchers.This paper provides an in-tegrated model of radio-frequency identification (RFID) and four-dimensional Computer-Aided Design (4D CAD) in construction management.RFID involves the use of tags that collect data and transmit data.RFID can collect data by radio waves instead of light waves.RFID technology is surpassing barcode technology where light waves are easily blocked and barcode labels are easy to fall off or become unreadable due to dust,dirt,or other contaminants.4D CAD which involves 3D construction models and construction sched-ules presents visualized construction process.Integration of RFID and 4D CAD in this paper built a dynamic constmction management and control system which would reduce the time of capturing data on site and control quality of construction materials efficiently.Pilot test result shows that a construction manager can easily understand how and what a complicated construction project will be accomplished.Although further analysis is necessary,RFID and 4D CAD show promises of being a beneficial technology in construction management.

Purpose: To validate the MGDR of OCTAVIUS 4D system (PTW, Freiburg, Germany) for quality assurance (QA) of volumetric-modulated arc radiotherapy (VMAT). Methods: 4D-MGDR measurements were divided into two parts: 1) square fields from 2×2 to 25×25 cm{sup 2} at 0°, 10° and 45° gantry, and 2) 8 VMAT plans (5 nasopharyngeal and 3 prostate) collapsed to gantry 40° in QA mode in Monaco v5.0 (Elekta, CMS, Maryland Heights, MO) were delivered on the OCTAVIUS 4D phantom with the OCTAVIUS 1500 detector plane perpendicular to either the incident beam to obtain the reconstructed dose (OCTA4D) or the 0° gantry axis to obtain the raw doses (OCTA3D) in Verisoft 6.1 (PTW, Freiburg, Germany). Raw measurements of OCTA3D were limited to < 45° gantry to avoid >0.5% variation of detector angular response with respect to 0° gantry as determined previously. Reconstructed OCTA4D and raw OCTA3D doses for all plans were compared at the same detector plane using γ criteria of 2% (local dose)/2mm and 3%/3mm criteria. Results: At gantry 0° and 10°, the γ results for all OCTA4D on detector plane coinciding with OCTA3D were over 90% at 2%/2mm except for the largest field (25×25 cm{sup 2} ) showing >88%. For square field at 45° gantry, γ passing rate is > 90% for fields smaller than 15x 15cm2 but < 80% for field size of 20 x20 cm{sup 2} upward. For VMAT, γ results showed 94% and 99% passing rate at 2%/2mm and 3%/3mm, respectively. Conclusion: OCTAVIUS 4D system has compromised accuracy in reconstructing dose away from the central beam axis, possibly due to the off-axis softening correction and errors of the percent depth dose data necessary as input for MGDR. Good results in VMAT delivery suggested that the system is relatively reliable for VMAT with small segments.

Purpose: Due to the limited number of projections at each phase, the image quality of a four-dimensional cone-beam CT (4D-CBCT) is often degraded, which decreases the accuracy of subsequent motion modeling. One of the promising methods is the simultaneous motion estimation and image reconstruction (SMEIR) approach. The objective of this work is to enhance the computational speed of the SMEIR algorithm using adaptive feature-based tetrahedral meshing and GPU-based parallelization. Methods: The first step is to generate the tetrahedral mesh based on the features of a reference phase 4D-CBCT, so that the deformation can be well captured and accurately diffused from the mesh vertices to voxels of the image volume. After the mesh generation, the updated motion model and other phases of 4D-CBCT can be obtained by matching the 4D-CBCT projection images at each phase with the corresponding forward projections of the deformed reference phase of 4D-CBCT. The entire process of this 4D-CBCT reconstruction method is implemented on GPU, resulting in significantly increasing the computational efficiency due to its tremendous parallel computing ability. Results: A 4D XCAT digital phantom was used to test the proposed mesh-based image reconstruction algorithm. The image Result shows both bone structures and inside of the lung are well-preserved and the tumor position can be well captured. Compared to the previous voxel-based CPU implementation of SMEIR, the proposed method is about 157 times faster for reconstructing a 10 -phase 4D-CBCT with dimension 256×256×150. Conclusion: The GPU-based parallel 4D CBCT reconstruction method uses the feature-based mesh for estimating motion model and demonstrates equivalent image Result with previous voxel-based SMEIR approach, with significantly improved computational speed.

Full Text Available Numerous two- and three-dimensional biomechanical models exist for the purpose of assessing the stresses placed on the lumbar spine during the performance of a manual material handling task. More recently, researchers have utilised their knowledge to develop specific computer-based models that can be applied in an occupational setting; an example of which is 4D WATBAK. The model used by 4D WATBAK bases its predications on static calculations and it is assumed that these static loads reasonably depict the actual dynamic loads acting on the lumbar spine. Consequently, it was the purpose of this research to assess the agreement between the static predictions made by 4D WATBAK and those from a comparable dynamic model. Six individuals were asked to perform a series of five lifting tasks, which ranged from lifting 2.5 kg to 22.5 kg and were designed to replicate the lifting component of the Work Capacity Assessment Test used within Australia. A single perpendicularly placed video camera was used to film each performance in the sagittal plane. The resultant two-dimensional kinematic data were input into the 4D WATBAK software and a dynamic biomechanical model to quantify the compression forces acting at the L4/L5 intervertebral joint. Results of this study indicated that as the mass of the load increased from 2.5 kg to 22.5 kg, the static compression forces calculated by 4D WATBAK became increasingly less than those calculated using the dynamic model (mean difference ranged from 22.0% for 2.5 kg to 42.9% for 22.5 kg. This study suggested that, for research purposes, a validated three-dimensional dynamic model should be employed when a task becomes complex and when a more accurate indication of spinal compression or shear force is required. Additionally, although it is clear that 4D WATBAK is particularly suited to industrial applications, it is suggested that the limitations of such modelling tools be carefully considered when task-risk and employee

The Ce 4d-core X-ray absorption spectrum (4d XAS) of the mixed valent ferromagnet CeRh3B2 is calculated based on the impurity Anderson model incorporated with electron-electron (or core hole) interactions described by the Slater integrals. The ferromagnetic ordering is taken into account by the molecular field acting on the 4f electron of the impurity atom. The difference in the 4d XAS between the right-hand and left-hand circularly polarized incident photons is predicted to be very remarkable, even for the magnetization of ˜ 1 μB per Ce atom.

An elementary introduction to the 2d/4d correspondences is given. After quickly reviewing the 2d q-deformed Yang-Mills theory and the Liouville theory, we will introduce 4d theories obtained by coupling trifundamentals to SU(2) gauge fields. We will then see concretely that the supersymmetric partition function of these theories on S^3 x S^1 and on S^4 is given respectively by the q-deformed Yang-Mills theory and the Liouville theory. After giving a short discussion on how this correspondence may be understood from the viewpoint of the 6d N=(2,0) theory, we conclude the review by enumerating future directions. Most of the technical points will be referred to more detailed review articles.

We revisit the holomorphic anomaly equations satisfied by the topological string amplitude from the perspective of the 4D-5D lift, in the context of ``magic'' N=2 supergravity theories. In particular, we interpret the Gopakumar-Vafa relation between 5D black hole degeneracies and the topological string amplitude as the result of a canonical transformation from 4D to 5D charges. Moreover we use the known Bekenstein-Hawking entropy of 5D black holes to constrain the asymptotic behavior of the topological wave function at finite topological coupling but large K\\"ahler classes. In the process, some subtleties in the relation between 5D black hole degeneracies and the topological string amplitude are uncovered, but not resolved. Finally we extend these considerations to the putative one-parameter generalization of the topological string amplitude, and identify the canonical transformation as a Weyl reflection inside the 3D duality group.

We construct 4d $\\mathcal{N}=1$ quantum field theories by compactifying the (2,0) theories on a Riemann surface with genus $g$ and $n$ punctures, where the normal bundle decomposes into a sum of two line bundles with possibly negative degrees $p$ and $q$. Until recently, the only available field-theoretic constructions required the line bundle degrees to be nonnegative, although supergravity solutions were constructed in the literature for the zero-puncture case for all $p$ and $q$. Here, we provide field-theoretic constructions and computations of the central charges of 4d $\\mathcal{N}=1$ SCFTs that are the IR limit of M5-branes wrapping a surface with general $p$ or $q$ negative, for general genus $g$ and number of maximal punctures $n$.

The paper presents applications of simplified discrete-event simulation (SDESA), and 4D-GCPSU,to the National Stadium of the Beijing 2008 Olympics. Taking into account influential factors, e.g., resource, spatial condition, and the randomness of the construction process, the installation process of the steel- structure was simulated and optimized by using genetic algorithm (GA) optimization methodology. The op- erations simulation shortened the installation duration by 39 days (about 16% of the original total duration),guided the manufacturers to plan the construction processes, and provided specific suggestions on the en-try time of the installation components, resulting in resource allocation optimization, resource saving, and construction efficiency improvement. Combining with the optimized schedule, the 4D visualization environ- ment can discover time-space conflicts timely, and may assist project managers to reschedule the construc-tion activities in tune with the site layout and resource allocation.

Simultaneous imaging of very early embryonic heart structure and function has technical limitations of spatial and temporal resolution. We have developed a gated technique using optical coherence tomography (OCT) that can rapidly image beating embryonic hearts in four-dimensions (4D), at high spatial resolution (10-15 μm), and with a depth penetration of 1.5 - 2.0 mm that is suitable for the study of early embryonic hearts. We acquired data from paced, excised, embryonic chicken and mouse hearts using gated sampling and employed image processing techniques to visualize the hearts in 4D and measure physiologic parameters such as cardiac volume, ejection fraction, and wall thickness. This technique is being developed to longitudinally investigate the physiology of intact embryonic hearts and events that lead to congenital heart defects.

It has been demonstrated that phosphodiesterase 4D (PDE4D) genetic polymorphism is associated with ischemic stroke. However, the association between PDE4D gene and prognosis after ischemic stroke remains unknown. We consecutively enrolled ischemic stroke patients admitted to Beijing Tiantan Hospital from October 2009 to December 2013. Clinical, laboratory and imaging data upon admission were collected. All patients were followed up 3 months after stroke onset. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated to assess the associations of genetic polymorphisms with 3-month outcome after ischemic stroke and different subtypes, under various genetic models. A total of 1447 patients were enrolled, and 3-month follow-up data were obtained from 1388 (95.92%). Multivariate regression analysis showed that SNP87 of PDE4D gene was associated with increased risk of unfavorable outcome after total ischemic stroke (OR = 1.47, 95%CI 1.12–1.93), as well as stroke due to large-artery atherosclerosis (OR = 1.49, 95%CI 1.04–2.11) and small-artery occlusion (OR = 1.76, 95%CI 1.05–2.96) under a recessive model. No association between SNP83 genotype and poor outcome was found. Overall, this study demonstrated that the TT genotype of SNP87 in PDE4D was associated with increased risk of poor outcome after total ischemic stroke, large-artery atherosclerosis and small-artery occlusion, in a Chinese population. PMID:28225001

Full Text Available Tomographic techniques are successfully applied to obtain 4D images of the tropospheric refractivity in a local dense network of global positioning system (GPS receivers. We show here how GPS data are processed to obtain the tropospheric slant wet delays and discuss the validity of the processing. These slant wet delays are the observables in the tomographic processing. We then discuss the inverse problem in 4D tropospheric tomography making extensive use of simulations to test the system and define the resolution and the impact of noise. Finally, we use data from the Kilauea network in Hawaii for February 1, 1997, and a local 4×4×40 voxel grid on a region of 400 km2 and 15 km in height to produce the corresponding 4D wet refractivity fields, which are then validated using forecast analysis from the European Center for Medium Range Weather Forecast (ECMWF. We conclude that tomographic techniques can be used to monitor the troposphere in time and space.

Iterative image reconstruction offers improved signal to noise properties for CT imaging. A primary challenge with iterative methods is the substantial computation time. This computation time is even more prohibitive in 4D imaging applications, such as cardiac gated or dynamic acquisition sequences. In this work, we propose only updating the time-varying elements of a 4D image sequence while constraining the static elements to be fixed or slowly varying in time. We test the method with simulations of 4D acquisitions based on measured cardiac patient data from a) a retrospective cardiac-gated CT acquisition and b) a dynamic perfusion CT acquisition. We target the kinetic elements with one of two methods: 1) position a circular ROI on the heart, assuming area outside ROI is essentially static throughout imaging time; and 2) select varying elements from the coefficient of variation image formed from fast analytic reconstruction of all time frames. Targeted kinetic elements are updated with each iteration, while static elements remain fixed at initial image values formed from the reconstruction of data from all time frames. Results confirm that the computation time is proportional to the number of targeted elements; our simulations suggest that 3 times reductions in reconstruction time. The images reconstructed with the proposed method have matched mean square error with full 4D reconstruction. The proposed method is amenable to most optimization algorithms and offers the potential for significant computation improvements, which could be traded off for more sophisticated system models or penalty terms.

Severe storms, tropical cyclones, and associated tornadoes, floods, lightning, and microbursts threaten life and property. Reliable, precise, and accurate alerts of these phenomena can trigger defensive actions and preparations. However, these crucial weather phenomena are difficult to forecast. The objective of this paper is to demonstrate the potential of 4d-VAR (four dimensional variational data assimilation) for exigent forecasting (XF) of severe storm precursors and to thereby characterize the probability of a worst-case scenario. 4d-VAR is designed to adjust the initial conditions (IC) of a numerical weather prediction model consistent with the uncertainty of the prior estimate of the IC while at the same time minimizing the misfit to available observations. For XF the same approach is taken but instead of fitting observations, a measure of damage or loss or an equivalent proxy is maximized or minimized. To accomplish this will require development of a specialized cost function for 4d-VAR. When 4d-VAR s...

The hyphenation of two detectors in combination with separation techniques is a powerful tool to enhance the analytical information. In this work, we present for the first time the coupling of two important detectors for capillary electrophoresis (CE), namely capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detection (C(4) D) and electrospray ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (ESI-TOF-MS). The elaborated experimental protocol took into account the requirements of separation aspects and the compatibility with both detectors. ESI-TOF-MS requires background electrolytes (BGE) containing only volatile components such as ammonium acetate or formate. These, however, exhibit a rather high conductivity, which is disadvantageous for C(4) D. Thus, the selection of the BGE in an appropriate concentration was undertaken for the determination of various phenolic compounds serving as a model system. The chosen BGE was a 10 mM ammonium acetate/ammonia buffer with a pH of 9. This BGE was a compromise concerning the detection performance of both detectors. The LODs for m-cresol, m- and p-nitrophenol, and 2,4-dinitrophenol were 3.1 μM (C(4) D), 0.8 μM (MS), 0.8 μM (MS), and 1.5 μM (MS), respectively. Moreover, the overall separation efficiency was excellent illustrating that detector-induced band broadening can be neglected in the CE-C(4) D/MS system. The analytical characteristics for the determination of phenolic compounds show the suitability of this dual detection approach and demonstrate the complementary use of C(4) D and MS detection.

In this paper, the four-dimensional variational data assimilation technique (4D-VAR) is presented as a tool to forecast floods. Our study is limited to purely hydrological flows and supposes that the weather, here a big rain, has been already forecasted by meteorological services. The technique consists in minimizing, in the sense of Lagrange, the cost function: a measure of the difference between calculated data and available observations, here the water level. This is done under constraints that are the equations of the physical model. In our case, we modified the shallow-water equations to include a simplified sediment transport model. The steepest descent algorithm is then used to find the minimum. This is made possible because we can compute analytically the gradient of the cost function by using the adjoint equations of the model. As an application of the 4D-VAR technique, the overflowing of the Chicoutimi River at the Chute-Garneau dam, during the 1996 flood, is investigated. It is found that the 4D-VAR method reduces the error in the water height forecast even when the erosion model is not activated. In terms of Lyapunov exponents, we estimate the predictability horizon of such an event to be about half-an-hour after a big rain. However, this limit of predictability can be increased by using more observations or by using a finer computational grid.

Bori\\c{c}i-Creutz (BC) model describing the dynamics of light quarks in lattice QCD has been shown to be intimately linked to the four dimensional extension of 2D graphene refereed below to as four dimensional graphene (4D- graphene). Borrowing ideas from the field theory description of the usual 2D graphene, we study in this paper the anomalous quantum Hall effect (AQHE) of the BC fermions in presence of a constant background electromagnetic field strength F_{{\\mu}{\

We reformulate 5D maximally supersymmetric Yang-Mills in 4D Superspace, for a manifold with boundaries. We emphasise certain features and conventions necessary to allow for supersymmetric model building applications. Finally we apply the holographic interpretation of a slice of AdS and show how to generate Dirac soft masses between external source fields, as well as kinetic mixing, as a boundary effective action.

This paper examines chaos control of two four-dimensional chaotic systems, namely: the Lorenz-Stenflo (LS) system that models low-frequency short-wavelength gravity waves and a new four-dimensional chaotic system (Qi systems), containing three cross products. The control analysis is based on recursive backstepping design technique and it is shown to be effective for the 4D systems considered. Numerical simulations are also presented.

We compare the consistency and accuracy of two image binning approaches used in 4D-CT imaging. One approach, phase binning (PB), assigns each breathing cycle 2π rad, within which the images are grouped. In amplitude binning (AB), the images are assigned bins according to the breathing signal's full amplitude. To quantitate both approaches we used a NEMA NU2-2001 IEC phantom oscillating in the axial direction and at random frequencies and amplitudes, approximately simulating a patient's breathing. 4D-CT images were obtained using a four-slice GE Lightspeed CT scanner operating in cine mode. We define consistency error as a measure of ability to correctly bin over repeated cycles in the same field of view. Average consistency error μe ± σe in PB ranged from 18% ± 20% to 30% ± 35%, while in AB the error ranged from 11% ± 14% to 20% ± 24%. In PB nearly all bins contained sphere slices. AB was more accurate, revealing empty bins where no sphere slices existed. As a proof of principle, we present examples of two non-small cell lung carcinoma patients' 4D-CT lung images binned by both approaches. While AB can lead to gaps in the coronal images, depending on the patient's breathing pattern, PB exhibits no gaps but suffers visible artifacts due to misbinning, yielding images that cover a relatively large amplitude range. AB was more consistent, though often resulted in gaps when no data existed due to patients' breathing pattern. We conclude AB is more accurate than PB. This has important consequences to treatment planning and diagnosis.

We compare the consistency and accuracy of two image binning approaches used in 4D-CT imaging. One approach, phase binning (PB), assigns each breathing cycle 2{pi} rad, within which the images are grouped. In amplitude binning (AB), the images are assigned bins according to the breathing signal's full amplitude. To quantitate both approaches we used a NEMA NU2-2001 IEC phantom oscillating in the axial direction and at random frequencies and amplitudes, approximately simulating a patient's breathing. 4D-CT images were obtained using a four-slice GE Lightspeed CT scanner operating in cine mode. We define consistency error as a measure of ability to correctly bin over repeated cycles in the same field of view. Average consistency error {mu}{sub e} {+-} {sigma}{sub e} in PB ranged from 18% {+-} 20% to 30% {+-} 35%, while in AB the error ranged from 11% {+-} 14% to 20% {+-} 24%. In PB nearly all bins contained sphere slices. AB was more accurate, revealing empty bins where no sphere slices existed. As a proof of principle, we present examples of two non-small cell lung carcinoma patients' 4D-CT lung images binned by both approaches. While AB can lead to gaps in the coronal images, depending on the patient's breathing pattern, PB exhibits no gaps but suffers visible artifacts due to misbinning, yielding images that cover a relatively large amplitude range. AB was more consistent, though often resulted in gaps when no data existed due to patients' breathing pattern. We conclude AB is more accurate than PB. This has important consequences to treatment planning and diagnosis.

Assessment of the intracranial flow is important for the understanding and management of cerebral vascular diseases. From brain aneurysms and arteriovenous malformations lesions to intracranial and cervical stenosis, the appraisal of the blood flow can be crucial and influence positively on patients' management. The determination of the intracranial hemodynamics and the collateral pattern seems to play to a major role in the management of these lesions. 4D flow magnetic resonance imaging is a noninvasive phase contrast derived method that has been developed and applied in neurovascular diseases. It has a great potential if followed by further technical improvements and comprehensive and systematic clinical studies.

Purpose: 4d cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans are usually reconstructed by extracting the motion information from the 2d projections or an external surrogate signal, and binning the individual projections into multiple respiratory phases. In this “after-the-fact” binning approach, however, projections are unevenly distributed over respiratory phases resulting in inefficient utilization of imaging dose. To avoid excess dose in certain respiratory phases, and poor image quality due to a lack of projections in others, the authors have developed a novel 4d CBCT acquisition framework which actively triggers 2d projections based on the forward-predicted position of the tumor.Methods: The forward-prediction of the tumor position was independently established using either (i) an electromagnetic (EM) tracking system based on implanted EM-transponders which act as a surrogate for the tumor position, or (ii) an external motion sensor measuring the chest-wall displacement and correlating this external motion to the phase-shifted diaphragm motion derived from the acquired images. In order to avoid EM-induced artifacts in the imaging detector, the authors devised a simple but effective “Faraday” shielding cage. The authors demonstrated the feasibility of their acquisition strategy by scanning an anthropomorphic lung phantom moving on 1d or 2d sinusoidal trajectories.Results: With both tumor position devices, the authors were able to acquire 4d CBCTs free of motion blurring. For scans based on the EM tracking system, reconstruction artifacts stemming from the presence of the EM-array and the EM-transponders were greatly reduced using newly developed correction algorithms. By tuning the imaging frequency independently for each respiratory phase prior to acquisition, it was possible to harmonize the number of projections over respiratory phases. Depending on the breathing period (3.5 or 5 s) and the gantry rotation time (4 or 5 min), between ∼90 and 145

Understanding spatial and temporal patterns of bioirrigation induced by benthic fauna ventilation is critical given its significance on benthic nutrient exchange and biogeochemistry in coastal ecosystems. The quantification of this process challenges marine scientists because faunal activities...... and behaviors are concealed in an opaque sediment matrix. Here, we use a hybrid medical imaging technique, positron emission tomography and computed tomography (PET/CT) to provide a qualitative visual and fully quantitative description of bioirrigation in 4D (space and time). As a study case, we present images...

Micro-CT is currently used in preclinical studies to provide anatomical information. But, there is also significant interest in using this technology to obtain functional information. We report here a new sampling strategy for 4D micro-CT for functional cardiac and pulmonary imaging. Rapid scanning of free-breathing mice is achieved with fast prospective gating (FPG) implemented on a field programmable gate array. The method entails on-the-fly computation of delays from the R peaks of the ECG signals or the peaks of the respiratory signals for the triggering pulses. Projection images are acquired for all cardiac or respiratory phases at each angle before rotating to the next angle. FPG can deliver the faster scan time of retrospective gating (RG) with the regular angular distribution of conventional prospective gating for cardiac or respiratory gating. Simultaneous cardio-respiratory gating is also possible with FPG in a hybrid retrospective/prospective approach. We have performed phantom experiments to validate the new sampling protocol and compared the results from FPG and RG in cardiac imaging of a mouse. Additionally, we have evaluated the utility of incorporating respiratory information in 4D cardiac micro-CT studies with FPG. A dual-source micro-CT system was used for image acquisition with pulsed x-ray exposures (80 kVp, 100 mA, 10 ms). The cardiac micro-CT protocol involves the use of a liposomal blood pool contrast agent containing 123 mg I ml-1 delivered via a tail vein catheter in a dose of 0.01 ml g-1 body weight. The phantom experiment demonstrates that FPG can distinguish the successive phases of phantom motion with minimal motion blur, and the animal study demonstrates that respiratory FPG can distinguish inspiration and expiration. 4D cardiac micro-CT imaging with FPG provides image quality superior to RG at an isotropic voxel size of 88 µm and 10 ms temporal resolution. The acquisition time for either sampling approach is less than 5 min. The

In this study, a 4D treatment planning tool using an analytical model accounting for breathing motion is investigated to evaluate the motion effect on delivered dose for lung cancer treatments with three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3DCRT). The Monte Carlo EGS4/MCDOSE user code is used in the treatment planning dose calculation, and the patient CT data are converted into respective patient geometry files for Monte Carlo dose calculation. The model interpolates CT images at different phases of the breathing cycle from patient CT scans taken at end inspiration and end expiration phases and the chest wall position. Correlation between the voxels in a reference CT dataset and the voxels in the interpolated CT datasets at any breathing phases is established so that the dose to a voxel can be accumulated through the entire breathing cycle. Simulated lung tumors at different locations are used to demonstrate our model in 3DCRT for lung cancer treatments. We demonstrated the use of a 4D treatment planning tool in evaluating the breathing motion effect on delivered dose for different planning margins. Further studies are being conducted to use this tool to study the lung motion effect through large-scale analysis and to implement this useful tool for treatment planning dose calculation and plan evaluation for 4D radiotherapy.

Purpose: Artifacts arising from the 4D CT acquisition and post-processing methods add systematic uncertainty to the treatment planning process. We propose an alternate cine 4D CT acquisition and post-processing method to consistently reduce artifacts, and explore patient parameters indicative of image quality. Methods: In an IRB-approved protocol, 18 patients with primary thoracic malignancies received a standard cine 4D CT acquisition followed by an oversampling 4D CT that doubled the number of images acquired. A second cohort of 10 patients received the clinical 4D CT plus 3 oversampling scans for intra-fraction reproducibility. The clinical acquisitions were processed by the standard phase sorting method. The oversampling acquisitions were processed using Dijkstras algorithm to optimize an artifact metric over available image data. Image quality was evaluated with a one-way mixed ANOVA model using a correlation-based artifact metric calculated from the final 4D CT image sets. Spearman correlations and a linear mixed model tested the association between breathing parameters, patient characteristics, and image quality. Results: The oversampling 4D CT scans reduced artifact presence significantly by 27% and 28%, for the first cohort and second cohort respectively. From cohort 2, the inter-replicate deviation for the oversampling method was within approximately 13% of the cross scan average at the 0.05 significance level. Artifact presence for both clinical and oversampling methods was significantly correlated with breathing period (ρ=0.407, p-value<0.032 clinical, ρ=0.296, p-value<0.041 oversampling). Artifact presence in the oversampling method was significantly correlated with amount of data acquired, (ρ=-0.335, p-value<0.02) indicating decreased artifact presence with increased breathing cycles per scan location. Conclusion: The 4D CT oversampling acquisition with optimized sorting reduced artifact presence significantly and reproducibly compared to the phase

In this paper, an improved framework for estimation of 3-D left-ventricular deformations from tagged MRI is presented. Contiguous short- and long-axis tagged MR images are collected and are used within a 4-D B-Spline based deformable model to determine 4-D displacements and strains. An initial 4-D B-spline model fitted to sparse tag line data is first constructed by minimizing a 4-D Chamfer distance potential-based energy function for aligning isoparametric planes of the model with tag line locations; subsequently, dense virtual tag lines based on 2-D phase-based displacement estimates and the initial model are created. A final 4-D B-spline model with increased knots is fitted to the virtual tag lines. From the final model, we can extract accurate 3-D myocardial deformation fields and corresponding strain maps which are local measures of non-rigid deformation. Lagrangian strains in simulated data are derived which show improvement over our previous work. The method is also applied to 3-D tagged MRI data collected in a canine.

Full Text Available Despite showing no evidence of carcinogenicity in laboratory animals, the herbicide 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D has been associated with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL in some human epidemiology studies, albeit inconsistently. We matched an existing cohort of 2,4-D manufacturing employees with cancer registries in three US states resulting in 244 cancers compared to 276 expected cases. The Standardized Incidence Ratio (SIR for the 14 NHL cases was 1.36 (95% Confidence Interval (CI 0.74–2.29. Risk estimates were higher in the upper cumulative exposure and duration subgroups, yet not statistically significant. There were no clear patterns of NHL risk with period of hire and histology subtypes. Statistically significant results were observed for prostate cancer (SIR = 0.74, 95% CI 0.57–0.94, and “other respiratory” cancers (SIR = 3.79, 95% CI 1.22–8.84; 4 of 5 cases were mesotheliomas. Overall, we observed fewer cancer cases than expected, and a non statistically significant increase in the number of NHL cases.

Insight into the dynamics of blood-flow considerably improves the understanding of the complex cardiovascular system and its pathologies. Advances in MRI technology enable acquisition of 4D blood-flow data, providing quantitative blood-flow velocities over time. The currently typical slice-by-slice analysis requires a full mental reconstruction of the unsteady blood-flow field, which is a tedious and highly challenging task, even for skilled physicians. We endeavor to alleviate this task by means of comprehensive visualization and interaction techniques. In this paper we present a framework for pre-clinical cardiovascular research, providing tools to both interactively explore the 4D blood-flow data and depict the essential blood-flow characteristics. The framework encompasses a variety of visualization styles, comprising illustrative techniques as well as improved methods from the established field of flow visualization. Each of the incorporated styles, including exploded planar reformats, flow-direction highlights, and arrow-trails, locally captures the blood-flow dynamics and may be initiated by an interactively probed vessel cross-section. Additionally, we present the results of an evaluation with domain experts, measuring the value of each of the visualization styles and related rendering parameters.

We argue that all consistent 4D quantum field theories obey a spacetime-averaged weak energy inequality $\\langle T^{00} \\rangle \\ge -C/L^4$, where $L$ is the size of the smearing region, and $C$ is a positive constant that depends on the theory. If this condition is violated, the theory has states that are indistinguishable from states of negative total energy by any local measurement, and we expect instabilities or other inconsistencies. We apply this condition to 4D conformal field theories, and find that it places constraints on the OPE coefficients of the theory. The constraints we find are weaker than the "conformal collider" constraints of Hofman and Maldacena. We speculate that there may be theories that violate the Hofman-Maldacena bounds, but satisfy our bounds. In 3D CFTs, the only constraint we find is equivalent to the positivity of 2-point function of the energy-momentum tensor, which follows from unitarity. Our calculations are performed using momentum-space Wightman functions, which are remarka...

We argue that all consistent 4D quantum field theories obey a spacetime-averaged weak energy inequality ≥ - C/L 4, where L is the size of the smearing region, and C is a positive constant that depends on the theory. If this condition is violated, the theory has states that are indistinguishable from states of negative total energy by any local measurement, and we expect instabilities or other inconsistencies. We apply this condition to 4D conformal field theories, and find that it places constraints on the OPE coefficients of the theory. The constraints we find are weaker than the "conformal collider" constraints of Hofman and Maldacena. In 3D CFTs, the only constraint we find is equivalent to the positivity of 2-point function of the energy-momentum tensor, which follows from unitarity. Our calculations are performed using momentum-space Wightman functions, which are remarkably simple functions of momenta, and may be of interest in their own right.

In this article, the authors review novel techniques in the emerging field of spatiotemporal four-dimensional (4D) positron emission tomography (PET) image reconstruction. The conventional approach to dynamic PET imaging, involving independent reconstruction of individual PET frames, can suffer from limited temporal resolution, high noise (especially when higher frame sampling is introduced to better capture fast dynamics), as well as complex reconstructed image noise distributions that can be very difficult and time consuming to model in kinetic parameter estimation tasks. Various approaches that seek to address some or all of these limitations are described, including techniques that utilize (a) iterative temporal smoothing, (b) advanced temporal basis functions, (c) principal components transformation of the dynamic data, (d) wavelet-based techniques, as well as (e) direct kinetic parameter estimation methods. Future opportunities and challenges with regards to the adoption of 4D and higher dimensional image reconstruction techniques are also outlined.

A mass deformed, supersymmetric, Yang-Mills quantum mechanics has been introduced recently as the matrix model of M-theory on plane-wave backgrounds. Here we point out that the massive matrix model can be obtained as a dimensional reduction of N=4, D=4 Super Yang-Mills theory on S{sup 3}. The hamiltonian of the matrix model can be matched with the dilatation operator of the conformal field theory, and we discuss how they behave in the perturbative computations. (Abstract Copyright [2004], Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

The provision of efficient and easy access to scientific subsurface data sets obtained from field studies and scientific observatories or by geological 3D/4D-modeling is an important contribution to modern research infrastructures as they can facilitate the integrated analysis and evaluation as well as the exchange of scientific data. Within the project EPOS - European Plate Observing System, access to 3D and 4D data sets will be provided by 'WP15 - Geological information and modeling' and include structural geology models as well as numerical models, e.g., temperature, aquifers, and velocity. This also includes validated raw data, e.g., seismic profiles, from which the models where derived. All these datasets are of high quality and of unique scientific value as the process of modeling is time and cost intensive. However, these models are currently not easily accessible for the wider scientific community, much less to the public. For the provision of these data sets a data management platform based on common and standardized data models, protocols, and encodings as well as on a predominant use of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) has been devised. The interoperability for disciplinary and domain applications thus highly depends on the adoption of generally agreed technologies and standards (OGC, ISO…) originating from Spatial Data Infrastructure related efforts (e.g., INSPIRE). However, since not many standards for 3D and 4D geological data exists, this work also includes new approaches for project data management, interfaces for tools used by the researchers, and interfaces for the sharing and reusing of data.

After more than a century of research, the mouse remains the gold-standard model system, for it recapitulates human development and disease and is quickly and highly tractable to genetic manipulations. Fundamental to the power and success of using a mouse model is the ability to stage embryonic mouse development accurately. Past staging systems were limited by the technologies of the day, such that only surface features, visible with a light microscope, could be recognized and used to define stages. With the advent of high-throughput 3D imaging tools that capture embryo morphology in microscopic detail, we now present the first 4D atlas staging system for mouse embryonic development using optical projection tomography and image registration methods. By tracking 3D trajectories of every anatomical point in the mouse embryo from E11.5 to E14.0, we established the first 4D atlas compiled from ex vivo 3D mouse embryo reference images. The resulting 4D atlas comprises 51 interpolated 3D images in this gestational range, resulting in a temporal resolution of 72 min. From this 4D atlas, any mouse embryo image can be subsequently compared and staged at the global, voxel and/or structural level. Assigning an embryonic stage to each point in anatomy allows for unprecedented quantitative analysis of developmental asynchrony among different anatomical structures in the same mouse embryo. This comprehensive developmental data set offers developmental biologists a new, powerful staging system that can identify and compare differences in developmental timing in wild-type embryos and shows promise for localizing deviations in mutant development.

Full Text Available Abstract Background The second to fourth digit ratio (2D:4D is used as a marker of prenatal sex hormone exposure. The objective of this study was to examine whether circulating concentrations of sex hormones and SHBG measured in adulthood was associated with 2D:4D. Methods This analysis was based on a random sample from the Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study. The sample consisted of of 1036 men and 620 post-menopausal women aged between 39 and 70 at the time of blood draw. Concentrations of circulating sex hormones were measured from plasma collected at baseline (1990-1994, while digit length was measured from hand photocopies taken during a recent follow-up (2003-2009. The outcome measures were circulating concentrations of testosterone, oestradiol, dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate, androstenedione, Sex Hormone Binding Globulin, androstenediol glucoronide for men only and oestrone sulphate for women only. Free testosterone and oestradiol were estimated using standard formulae derived empirically. Predicted geometric mean hormone concentrations (for tertiles of 2D:4D and conditional correlation coefficients (for continuous 2D:4D were obtained using mixed effects linear regression models. Results No strong associations were observed between 2D:4D measures and circulating concentrations of hormones for men or women. For males, right 2D:4D was weakly inversely associated with circulating testosterone (predicted geometric mean testosterone was 15.9 and 15.0 nmol/L for the lowest and highest tertiles of male right 2D:4D respectively (P-trend = 0.04. There was a similar weak association between male right 2D:4D and the ratio of testosterone to oestradiol. These associations were not evident in analyses of continuous 2D:4D. Conclusions There were no strong associations between any adult circulating concentration of sex hormone or SHGB and 2D:4D. These results contribute to the growing body of evidence indicating that 2D:4D is unrelated to adult sex

). Similar relative offsets were found at the diaphragm. We have devised a method to use amplitude binned 4D-CT to construct motion model and generate a mid-position planning CT for radiotherapy treatment purposes. We have decimated the systematic offset of this mid-position model with a motion model derived from P-4D-CT. We found that the A-4D-CT led to a decrease of local artefacts and that this decrease was correlated to the irregularity of the external respiration signal.

on use of resources of the global civil society emerging in global ‘transformations’ related to migration, media and ‘the social work of the imagination’. Whereas much new media debate departs from the assumption of media ubiquity affecting our notions of reality, the article will attempt a different...... perspective. It will ponder issues of collective imagination as exerted by way of such effects, i.e. in cultural forms that emerge out of media-roles in the ‘complex connectivity’ in globalisation processes.......The Article presents theoretical comments on the theme of ‘media ubiquity’, as an introduction to the presentation of an information and communication technology ‘4’ development (ICT4D) project in the Republic of Somaliland: The Somaliland Telemedical System for Psychiatry. This project is based...

. In a certain way, this agenda can be understood as a topdown approach which transfers technology in a hierarchical way to actual users. Complementary to the traditional approach, a bottom-up approach starts by identifying communities that are ready to participate in a process to use technology to transform......The term ICT4D refers to the opportunities of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as an agent of development. Much of the research in the field is based on evaluating the feasibility of existing technologies, mostly of Western or Asian origin, in the context of developing countries...... their own strengths to new levels by designing appropriate technologies with experts of technology and design. The bottomup approach requires a new kind of ICT education at the undergraduate level. An example of the development of a contextualized IT degree program at Tumaini University in Tanzania shows...

We explore some curiosities in 4d susy RG flows. One issue is that the compelling candidate a-function, from a-maximization with Lagrange multipliers, has a `strange branch," with reversed RG flow properties, monotonically increasing instead of decreasing. The branch flip to the strange branch occurs where a double-trace deformation Delta W=O ^2 passes through marginality, reminiscent of the condition for the chiral symmetry breaking, out of the conformal window transition in non-susy gauge theories. The second issue arises from Higgsing vevs for IR-free fields, which sometimes superficially violate the a-theorem. The resolution is that some vevs trigger marginal or irrelevant interactions, leading to Delta a=0 and decoupled dilaton on a subspace of the moduli space of vacua. This is contrary to classical intuition about Higgsing. This phenomenon often (but not always) correlates with negative R-charge for the Higgsing chiral operator.

The full exploitation of the physics potential of the high luminosity LHC is a big challenge that requires new instrumentation and innovative solutions. We present here a conceptual design and simulation studies of a fast timing pixel detector with embedded real-time tracking capabilities. The system is conceived to operate at 40 MHz event rate and to reconstruct tracks in real-time, using precise space and time 4D information of the hit, for fast trigger decisions. This work is part of an R&D project aimed at building an innovative tracking detector with superior time (10 ps) and position (10 μm) resolutions to be used in very harsh radiation environments, for the ultimate flavour physics experiment at the high luminosity phase of the LHC.

This software provides a programming interface for automating data collection with a PhaseCam interferometer from 4D Technology, and distributing the image-processing algorithm across a cluster of general-purpose computers. Multiple instances of 4Sight (4D Technology s proprietary software) run on a networked cluster of computers. Each connects to a single server (the controller) and waits for instructions. The controller directs the interferometer to several images, then assigns each image to a different computer for processing. When the image processing is finished, the server directs one of the computers to collate and combine the processed images, saving the resulting measurement in a file on a disk. The available software captures approximately 100 images and analyzes them immediately. This software separates the capture and analysis processes, so that analysis can be done at a different time and faster by running the algorithm in parallel across several processors. The PhaseCam family of interferometers can measure an optical system in milliseconds, but it takes many seconds to process the data so that it is usable. In characterizing an adaptive optics system, like the next generation of astronomical observatories, thousands of measurements are required, and the processing time quickly becomes excessive. A programming interface distributes data processing for a PhaseCam interferometer across a Windows computing cluster. A scriptable controller program coordinates data acquisition from the interferometer, storage on networked hard disks, and parallel processing. Idle time of the interferometer is minimized. This architecture is implemented in Python and JavaScript, and may be altered to fit a customer s needs.

The aim of this study was to evaluate dental students' opinions regarding the utilization of a new grading software program for student self-assessment and a faculty-grading tool in a preclinical course. Using surface mapping technology, this program, called E4D Compare, yields a digital model of a student's preparation that is color-coded to show deficient areas. The program has now been used for two years at the James B. Edwards College of Dental Medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina, and the students previously assessed with E4D Compare have now entered into the dental clinics. For this study, students were asked to complete an anonymous survey for the investigators to evaluate students' attitudes and opinions on the effectiveness of this software in their preclinical courses to determine if this type of feedback helped them develop clinical skills. The survey also sought to collect students' opinions on the traditional objective criteria-based grading system. The survey was distributed to all members of the Classes of 2014 and 2015; it yielded a 59 percent response rate for the two classes, with a total of eighty-one students responding. Overall, the majority of students preferred the E4D Compare grading system over traditional hand-grading methods. The grading system provided instant, objective, and visual feedback that allowed students to easily see where their deficiencies were and encouraged them to work towards an ideal final product.

Time-lapse (4D) seismic data sets have proven to be extremely useful for reservoir monitoring. Seismic-derived impedance estimates are commonly used as a 4D attribute to constrain updates to reservoir fluid flow models. However, 4D seismic estimates of P-wave impedance can contain significant errors associated with the effects of seismic noise and the inherent instability of inverse methods. These errors may compromise the geological accuracy of the reservoir model leading to incorrect reservoir model property updates and incorrect reservoir fluid flow predictions. To evaluate such errors and uncertainties we study two time-lapse scenarios based on 1D and 3D reservoir model examples, thereby exploring a number of inverse theory concepts associated with the instability and error of coloured inversion operators and their dependence on seismic noise levels. In the 1D example, we show that inverted band-limited impedance changes have a smaller root-mean-square (RMS) error in comparison to their absolute broadband counterpart for signal-to-noise ratios 10 and 5 while for signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) = 3 both inversion methods present similarly high errors. In the 3D example we use an oilfield benchmark case based on the Namorado Field in Campos Basin, Brazil. We introduce a histogram similarity measure to quantify the impact of seismic noise on maps of 4D seismic amplitude and impedance changes as a function of S/N levels, which indicate that amplitudes are less sensitive to 4D seismic noise than impedances. The RMS errors in the estimates of water saturation changes derived from 4D seismic amplitudes are also smaller than for 4D seismic impedances, over a wide range of typical seismic noise levels. These results quantitatively demonstrate that seismic amplitudes can be more accurate and robust than seismic impedances for quantifying water saturation changes with 4D seismic data, and emphasize that seismic amplitudes may be more reliable to update fluid flow

Purpose: A novel method called respiratory triggered 4D cone-beam computed tomography (RT 4D CBCT) is described whereby imaging dose can be reduced without degrading image quality. RT 4D CBCT utilizes a respiratory signal to trigger projections such that only a single projection is assigned to a given respiratory bin for each breathing cycle. In contrast, commercial 4D CBCT does not actively use the respiratory signal to minimize image dose. Methods: To compare RT 4D CBCT with conventional 4D CBCT, 3600 CBCT projections of a thorax phantom were gathered and reconstructed to generate a ground truth CBCT dataset. Simulation pairs of conventional 4D CBCT acquisitions and RT 4D CBCT acquisitions were developed assuming a sinusoidal respiratory signal which governs the selection of projections from the pool of 3600 original projections. The RT 4D CBCT acquisition triggers a single projection when the respiratory signal enters a desired acquisition bin; the conventional acquisition does not use a respiratory trigger and projections are acquired at a constant frequency. Acquisition parameters studied were breathing period, acquisition time, and imager frequency. The performance of RT 4D CBCT using phase based and displacement based sorting was also studied. Image quality was quantified by calculating difference images of the test dataset from the ground truth dataset. Imaging dose was calculated by counting projections. Results: Using phase based sorting RT 4D CBCT results in 47% less imaging dose on average compared to conventional 4D CBCT. Image quality differences were less than 4% at worst. Using displacement based sorting RT 4D CBCT results in 57% less imaging dose on average, than conventional 4D CBCT methods; however, image quality was 26% worse with RT 4D CBCT. Conclusions: Simulation studies have shown that RT 4D CBCT reduces imaging dose while maintaining comparable image quality for phase based 4D CBCT; image quality is degraded for displacement based RT 4D

Full Text Available Abstract Background Animals with a spiral cleavage program, such as mollusks and annelids, make up the majority of the superphylum Lophotrochozoa. The great diversity of larval and adult body plans in this group emerges from this highly conserved developmental program. The 4d micromere is one of the most conserved aspects of spiralian development. Unlike the preceding pattern of spiral divisions, cleavages within the 4d teloblastic sublineages are bilateral, representing a critical transition towards constructing the bilaterian body plan. These cells give rise to the visceral mesoderm in virtually all spiralians examined and in many species they also contribute to the endodermal intestine. Hence, the 4d lineage is an ideal one for studying the evolution and diversification of the bipotential endomesodermal germ layer in protostomes at the level of individual cells. Little is known of how division patterns are controlled or how mesodermal and endodermal sublineages diverge in spiralians. Detailed modern fate maps for 4d exist in only a few species of clitellate annelids, specifically in glossiphoniid leeches and the sludge worm Tubifex. We investigated the 4d lineage in the gastropod Crepidula fornicata, an established model system for spiralian biology, and in a closely related direct-developing species, C. convexa. Results High-resolution cell lineage tracing techniques were used to study the 4d lineage of C. fornicata and C. convexa. We present a new nomenclature to name the progeny of 4d, and report the fate map for the sublineages up through the birth of the first five pairs of teloblast daughter cells (when 28 cells are present in the 4d sublineage, and describe each clone’s behavior during gastrulation and later stages as these undergo differentiation. We identify the precise origin of the intestine, two cells of the larval kidney complex, the larval retractor muscles and the presumptive germ cells, among others. Other tissues that arise

Aiming to achieve systematic ocean forecasting for the southeastern Brazilian coast, an incremental 4D-Var data assimilation system is applied to a regional ocean model focused mainly in the Santos Basin region. This implementation is performed within the scope of The Santos Basin Ocean Observing System (or Project Azul), a pilot project designed to collect oceanographic data with enough frequency and spatial coverage so to improve regional forecasts through data assimilation. The ocean modeling and data assimilation system of Project Azul is performed with the Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS). The observations used in the assimilation cycles include the following: 1-day gridded, 0.1° resolution SST from POES AVHRR; 1-day gridded, 0.3° composite of the MDT SSH from AVISO; and surface and subsurface hydrographic measurements of temperature and salinity collected with gliders and ARGO floats from Project Azul and from UK Met-Office EN3 project dataset. The assimilative model results are compared to forward model results and independent observations, both from remote sensing and in situ sources. The results clearly show that 4D-Var data assimilation leads to an improvement in the skill of ocean hindcast in the studied region.

We present a new 4D printing approach that can create high resolution (up to a few microns), multimaterial shape memory polymer (SMP) architectures. The approach is based on high resolution projection microstereolithography (PμSL) and uses a family of photo-curable methacrylate based copolymer networks. We designed the constituents and compositions to exhibit desired thermomechanical behavior (including rubbery modulus, glass transition temperature and failure strain which is more than 300% and larger than any existing printable materials) to enable controlled shape memory behavior. We used a high resolution, high contrast digital micro display to ensure high resolution of photo-curing methacrylate based SMPs that requires higher exposure energy than more common acrylate based polymers. An automated material exchange process enables the manufacture of 3D composite architectures from multiple photo-curable SMPs. In order to understand the behavior of the 3D composite microarchitectures, we carry out high fidelity computational simulations of their complex nonlinear, time-dependent behavior and study important design considerations including local deformation, shape fixity and free recovery rate. Simulations are in good agreement with experiments for a series of single and multimaterial components and can be used to facilitate the design of SMP 3D structures.

The CBM experiment (FAIR/GSI, Darmstadt, Germany) will focus on the measurement of rare probes at interaction rates up to 10MHz with data flow of up to 1 TB/s. It requires a novel read-out and data-acquisition concept with self-triggered electronics and free-streaming data. In this case resolving different collisions is a non-trivial task and event building must be performed in software online. That requires full online event reconstruction and selection not only in space, but also in time, so-called 4D event building and selection. This is a task of the First-Level Event Selection (FLES). The FLES reconstruction and selection package consists of several modules: track finding, track fitting, short-lived particles finding, event building and event selection. The Cellular Automaton (CA) track finder algorithm was adapted towards time-based reconstruction. In this article, we describe in detail the modification done to the algorithm, as well as the performance of the developed time-based CA approach.

Probabilistic atlases are widely used in the neuroscience community as a tool for providing a standard space for comparison of subjects and as tissue priors used to enhance the intensity-based classification of brain MRI. Most efforts so far have focused on static brain atlases either for adult or pediatric cohorts. In contrast to the adult brain the rapid growth of the neonatal brain requires an age-specific spatial probabilistic atlas to provide suitable anatomical and structural information. In this paper we describe a 4D probabilistic atlas that allows dynamic generation of prior tissue probability maps for any chosen stage of neonatal brain development between 29 and 44 gestational weeks. The atlas is created from the segmentations of 142 neonatal subjects at different ages using a kernel-based regression method and provides prior tissue probability maps for six structures - cortex, white matter, subcortical grey matter, brainstem, cerebellum and cerebro-spinal fluid. The atlas is publicly available at www.brain-development.org.

We explore the constraining power of OPE associativity in 4D conformal field theory with a continuous global symmetry group. We give a general analysis of crossing symmetry constraints in the 4-point function ({phi}{phi}{phi}{dagger}{phi}{dagger}), where {phi} is a primary scalar operator in a given representation R. These constraints take the form of 'vectorial sum rules' for conformal blocks of operators whose representations appear in RxR and Rx R-bar . The coefficients in these sum rules are related to the Fierz transformation matrices for the RxRx R-bar x R-bar invariant tensors. We show that the number of equations is always equal to the number of symmetry channels to be constrained. We also analyze in detail two cases-the fundamental of SO(N) and the fundamental of SU(N). We derive the vectorial sum rules explicitly, and use them to study the dimension of the lowest singlet scalar in the {phi} x {phi}{dagger} OPE. We prove the existence of an upper bound on the dimension of this scalar. The bound depends on the conformal dimension of {phi} and approaches 2 in the limit dim({Phi}){yields}1. For several small groups, we compute the behavior of the bound at dim({Phi})>1. We discuss implications of our bound for the conformal technicolor scenario of electroweak symmetry breaking.

We study 4d $\\mathcal{N}=1$ supersymmetric theories on a compact Euclidean manifold of the form $S^1 \\times\\mathcal{M}_3$. Partition functions of gauge theories on this background can be computed using localization, and explicit formulas have been derived for different choices of the compact manifold $\\mathcal{M}_3$. Taking the limit of shrinking $S^1$, we present a general formula for the limit of the localization integrand, derived by simple effective theory considerations, generalizing the result of arXiv:1512.03376. The limit is given in terms of an effective potential for the holonomies around the $S^1$, whose minima determine the asymptotic behavior of the partition function. If the potential is minimized in the origin, where it vanishes, the partition function has a Cardy-like behavior fixed by $\\mathrm{Tr}(R)$, while a nontrivial minimum gives a shift in the coefficient. In all the examples that we consider, the origin is a minimum iff $\\mathrm{Tr}(R) \\leq 0$.

We present a new 4D printing approach that can create high resolution (up to a few microns), multimaterial shape memory polymer (SMP) architectures. The approach is based on high resolution projection microstereolithography (PμSL) and uses a family of photo-curable methacrylate based copolymer networks. We designed the constituents and compositions to exhibit desired thermomechanical behavior (including rubbery modulus, glass transition temperature and failure strain which is more than 300% and larger than any existing printable materials) to enable controlled shape memory behavior. We used a high resolution, high contrast digital micro display to ensure high resolution of photo-curing methacrylate based SMPs that requires higher exposure energy than more common acrylate based polymers. An automated material exchange process enables the manufacture of 3D composite architectures from multiple photo-curable SMPs. In order to understand the behavior of the 3D composite microarchitectures, we carry out high fidelity computational simulations of their complex nonlinear, time-dependent behavior and study important design considerations including local deformation, shape fixity and free recovery rate. Simulations are in good agreement with experiments for a series of single and multimaterial components and can be used to facilitate the design of SMP 3D structures.

We present first results of four dimensional variational (4D-var) data assimilation analysis applying SEVIRI observations to the Eulerian regional chemistry and aerosol transport model EURAD-IM (European Air Pollution Dispersion - Inverse Model). Optimising atmospheric dispersion models in terms of volcanic ash transport predictions by observations is especially essential for the aviation industry and associated interests. Remote sensing satellite observations are instrumental for ash detection and monitoring. We choose volcanic ash column retrievals of the Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager (SEVIRI) because as infrared instrument on the geostationary satellite Meteosat Second Generation it delivers measurements with high temporal resolution during day and night. The retrieval method relies on the reverse absorption effect. In the framework of the national initiative ESKP (Earth System Knowledge Platform) and the European ACTRIS-2 (Aerosol, Clouds, and Trace gases Research InfraStructure) project, we developed new modules (forward and adjoint) within the EURAD-IM, which are able to process SEVIRI ash column data as observational input to the 4D-var system. The focus of the 4D-var analysis is on initial value optimisation of the volcanic ash clouds that were emitted during the explosive Eyjafjallajökull eruption in April 2010. This eruption caused high public interest because of air traffic closures and it was particularly well observed from many different observation systems all over Europe. Considering multiple observation periods simultaneously in one assimilation window generates a continuous trajectory in the phase space and ensures that past observations are considered within their uncertainties. Results are validated mainly by lidar (LIght Detection And Ranging) observations, both ground and satellite based.

The ratio of the length of the second to the fourth digit (2D:4D) may be negatively correlated with prenatal testosterone. Hand preference has been linked with prenatal testosterone and 2D:4D. Here we show that 2D:4D is associated with hand preference for writing in a large internet sample (n>170,000) in which participants self-reported their finger lengths. We replicated a significant association between right 2D:4D and writing hand preference (low right 2D:4D associated with left hand preference) as well as a significant correlation between writing hand preference and the difference between left and right 2D:4D or Dr-l (low Dr-l associated with left hand preference). A new significant correlation between left 2D:4D and writing hand preference was also shown (high left 2D:4D associated with left hand preference). There was a clear interaction between writing hand preference and 2D:4D: The left 2D:4D was significantly larger than the right 2D:4D in male and female left-handed writers, and the right hand 2D:4D was significantly larger than the left hand 2D:4D in male and female right-handed writers.

Mvox is a new tool for visualization, segmentation and manipulation of a wide range of 2-4D grey level and colour images, and 3D surface graphics, which has been developed at the Department of Mathematical Modelling, Technical University of Denmark. The principal idea behind the software has been...... to provide a flexible tool that is able to handle all the kinds of data that are typically used in a research environment for medical imaging and visualization. At the same time the software should be easy to use and have a consistent interface providing locally only the functions relevant to the context...

Tight gas sand reservoirs generally contain thick gas-charged intervals that often have low porosity and very low permeability. Natural and induced fractures provide the only means of production. The objective of this work is to locate and characterize natural and induced fractures from analysis of scattered waves recorded on 4-D (time lapse) VSP data in order to optimize well placement and well spacing in these gas reservoirs. Using model data simulating the scattering of seismic energy from hydraulic fractures, we first show that it is possible to characterize the quality of fracturing based upon the amount of scattering. In addition, the picked arrival times of recorded microseismic events provide the velocity moveout for isolating the scattered energy on the 4-D VSP data. This concept is applied to a field dataset from the Jonah Field in Wyoming to characterize the quality of the induced hydraulic fractures. The time lapse (4D) VSP data from this field are imaged using a migration algorithm that utilizes shot travel time tables derived from the first breaks of the 3D VSPs and receiver travel time tables based on the microseismic arrival times and a regional velocity model. Four azimuthally varying shot tables are derived from picks of the first breaks of over 200 VSP records. We create images of the fracture planes through two of the hydraulically fractured wells in the field. The scattered energy shows correlation with the locations of the microseismic events. In addition, the azimuthal scattering is different from the azimuthal reflectivity of the reservoir, giving us more confidence that we have separated the scattered signal from simple formation reflectivity. Variation of the scattered energy along the image planes suggests variability in the quality of the fractures in three distinct zones.

Many countries have waters contaminated with both herbicides and nitrates; however, information is limited with respect to removal rates for combined nitrate and herbicide elimination. This research investigates the removal of 2,4-D via denitrification, with a particular emphasis on the effect of adding naturally generated volatile fatty acids (VFAs). The acids were produced from an acid-phase anaerobic digester with a mean VFA concentration of 3153±801 mg/L (as acetic acid). Initially, 2,4-D degrading bacteria were developed in an SBR fed with both sewage and 2,4-D (30-100 mg/L). Subsequent denitrification batch tests demonstrated that the specific denitrification rate increased from 0.0119±0.0039 using 2,4-D alone to 0.0192±0.0079 g NO₃-N/g VSS per day, when 2,4-D was combined with natural VFAs from the digester. Similarly, the specific 2,4-D consumption rate increased from 0.0016±0.0009 using 2,4-D alone to 0.0055±0.0021 g 2,4-D/g VSS per day, when using 2,4-D plus natural VFAs. Finally, a parallel increase in the percent 2,4-D removal was observed, rising from 28.33±11.88 using 2,4-D alone to 54.17±21.89 using 2,4-D plus natural VFAs.

Purpose: The authors previously developed an adult population of 4D extended cardiac-torso (XCAT) phantoms for multimodality imaging research. In this work, the authors develop a reference set of 4D pediatric XCAT phantoms consisting of male and female anatomies at ages of newborn, 1, 5, 10, and 15 years. These models will serve as the foundation from which the authors will create a vast population of pediatric phantoms for optimizing pediatric CT imaging protocols. Methods: Each phantom was based on a unique set of CT data from a normal patient obtained from the Duke University database. The datasets were selected to best match the reference values for height and weight for the different ages and genders according to ICRP Publication 89. The major organs and structures were segmented from the CT data and used to create an initial pediatric model defined using nonuniform rational B-spline surfaces. The CT data covered the entire torso and part of the head. To complete the body, the authors manually added on the top of the head and the arms and legs using scaled versions of the XCAT adult models or additional models created from cadaver data. A multichannel large deformation diffeomorphic metric mapping algorithm was then used to calculate the transform from a template XCAT phantom (male or female 50th percentile adult) to the target pediatric model. The transform was applied to the template XCAT to fill in any unsegmented structures within the target phantom and to implement the 4D cardiac and respiratory models in the new anatomy. The masses of the organs in each phantom were matched to the reference values given in ICRP Publication 89. The new reference models were checked for anatomical accuracy via visual inspection. Results: The authors created a set of ten pediatric reference phantoms that have the same level of detail and functionality as the original XCAT phantom adults. Each consists of thousands of anatomical structures and includes parameterized models

Assimilation of a new observation dataset in an NWP system may affect the quality of an existing observation data set against the model background (short forecast), which in-turn influence the use of an existing observation in the NWP system. Effect of the use of one data set on the use of another data set can be quantified as positive, negative or neutral. Impact of the addition of new dataset is defined as positive if the number of assimilated observations of an existing type of observation increases, and bias and standard deviation decreases compared to the control (without the new dataset) experiment. Recently a new dataset, Megha Tropiques SAPHIR radiances, which provides atmospheric humidity information, is added in the Unified Model4D-VAR assimilation system. In this paper we discuss the impact of SAPHIR on the assimilation of hyper-spectral radiances like AIRS, IASI and CrIS. Though SAPHIR is a Microwave instrument, its impact can be clearly seen in the use of hyper-spectral radiances in the 4D-VAR data assimilation systems in addition to other Microwave and InfraRed observation. SAPHIR assimilation decreased the standard deviation of the spectral channels of wave number from 650 -1600 cm-1 in all the three hyperspectral radiances. Similar impact on the hyperspectral radiances can be seen due to the assimilation of other Microwave radiances like from AMSR2 and SSMIS Imager.

Array algebra of photogrammetry and geodesy unified multi-linear matrix and tensor operators in an expansion of Gaussian adjustment calculus to general matrix inverses and solutions of inverse problems to find all, or some optimal, parametric solutions that satisfy the available observables. By-products in expanding array and tensor calculus to handle redundant observables resulted in general theories of estimation in mathematical statistics and fast transform technology of signal processing. Their applications in gravity modeling and system automation of multi-ray digital image and terrain matching evolved into fast multi-nonlinear differential and integral array calculus. Work since 1980's also uncovered closed-form inverse Taylor and least squares Newton-Raphson-Gauss perturbation solutions of nonlinear systems of equations. Fast nonlinear integral matching of array wavelets enabled an expansion of the bundle adjustment to 4-D stereo imaging and range sensing where real-time stereo sequence and waveform phase matching enabled data-to-info conversion and compression on-board advanced sensors. The resulting unified array calculus of spacetime sensing is applicable in virtually any math and engineering science, including recent work in spacetime physics. The paper focuses on geometric spacetime reconstruction from its image projections inspired by unified relativity and string theories. The collinear imaging equations of active object space shutter of special relativity are expanded to 4-D Lorentz transform. However, regular passive imaging and shutter inside the sensor expands the law of special relativity by a quantum geometric explanation of 4-D photogrammetry. The collinear imaging equations provide common sense explanations to the 10 (and 26) dimensional hyperspace concepts of a purely geometric string theory. The 11-D geometric M-theory is interpreted as a bundle adjustment of spacetime images using 2-D or 5-D membrane observables of image, string and

The use of hybrid error covariance models has become quite popular for numerical weather prediction (NWP). One such method for incorporating localized covariances from an ensemble within the variational framework utilizes an augmented control variable (EnVar), and has been implemented in the operational NCEP data assimilation system (GSI). By taking the existing 3D EnVar algorithm in GSI and allowing for four-dimensional ensemble perturbations, coupled with the 4DVAR infrastructure already in place, a 4D EnVar capability has been developed. The 4D EnVar algorithm has a few attractive qualities relative to 4DVAR, including the lack of need for tangent-linear and adjoint model as well as reduced computational cost. Preliminary results using real observations have been encouraging, showing forecast improvements nearly as large as were found in moving from 3DVAR to hybrid 3D EnVar. 4D EnVar is the method of choice for the next generation assimilation system for use with the operational NCEP global model, the global forecast system (GFS). The use of an outer-loop has long been the method of choice for 4DVar data assimilation to help address nonlinearity. An outer loop involves the re-running of the (deterministic) background forecast from the updated initial condition at the beginning of the assimilation window, and proceeding with another inner loop minimization. Within 4D EnVar, a similar procedure can be adopted since the solver evaluates a 4D analysis increment throughout the window, consistent with the valid times of the 4D ensemble perturbations. In this procedure, the ensemble perturbations are kept fixed and centered about the updated background state. This is analogous to the quasi-outer loop idea developed for the EnKF. Here, we present results for both toy model and real NWP systems demonstrating the impact from incorporating outer loops to address nonlinearity within the 4D EnVar context. The appropriate amplitudes for observation and background error

四维打印技术是在三维打印技术的基础上增加一维时间元素，人们可以通过软件设定模型和时间，变形材料会在设定的时间内折叠为所需的形状。相对于三维打印技术，四维打印技术更加“智能”，物料可自行组装，具有经济、高效、直接的优点。文章对这项新技术的相关名词、技术要点以及应用前景进行了简要介绍。%4D printing is a technology which adding one-dimensional time element on the basis of 3 D printing. People can set models and time by software, thus modified materials shape in set time. Relative to the 3D printing, 4D printing is more intel igent, because the materials could be assembly by itself, which has the advantages of economic, efficient and direct.

We study the large-$N$ scaling behavior of the $\\theta$ dependence of the ground-state energy density $E(\\theta)$ of four-dimensional (4D) $SU(N)$ gauge theories and two-dimensional (2D) $CP^{N-1}$ models, where $\\theta$ is the parameter associated with the Lagrangian topological term. We consider its $\\theta$ expansion around $\\theta=0$, $E(\\theta)-E(0) = {1\\over 2}\\chi \\,\\theta^2 ( 1 + b_2 \\theta^2 + b_4\\theta^4 +\\cdots)$ where $\\chi$ is the topological susceptibility and $b_{2n}$ are dimensionless coefficients. We focus on the first few coefficients $b_{2n}$, which parametrize the deviation from a simple Gaussian distribution of the topological charge at $\\theta=0$. We present a numerical analysis of Monte Carlo simulations of 4D $SU(N)$ lattice gauge theories for $N=3,\\,4,\\,6$ in the presence of an imaginary $\\theta$ term. The results provide a robust evidence of the large-$N$ behavior predicted by standard large-$N$ scaling arguments, i.e. $b_{2n}= O(N^{-2n})$. In particular, we obtain $b_2=\\bar{b}_2/N^2...

An initialization relevant to interannual-to-decadal climate prediction has usually used a simple restoring approach for oceanic variables. Here we demonstrate the potential use of four-dimensional variational (4D-Var) data assimilation on the leading edge of initialization approach particularly in multiyear (5 year long) climate prediction. We perform full-field initialization rather than anomaly initialization and assimilate the atmosphere states together with the ocean states to an atmosphere-ocean coupled climate model. In particular, it is noteworthy that ensembles of multiyear hindcasts using our assimilation results as initial conditions exhibit an improved skill in hindcasting the multiyear changes of the upper ocean heat content (OHC) over the central North Pacific. The 4D-Var approach enables us to directly assimilate a time trajectory of slow changes of the Aleutian Low that are compatible with the sea surface height and the OHC. Consequently, we can estimate a coupled climate state suitable for hindcasting dynamical changes over the extratropical North Pacific as observed.

Full Text Available The second to fourth digit ratio (2Dratio4D is sexually differentiated in a variety of species, including humans, rats, birds, and lizards. In humans, this ratio tends to be lower in males than in females. Lower digit ratios are believed to indicate increased prenatal testosterone exposure, and are associated with more masculinized behavior across a range of traits. The story seems more complicated in laboratory mice. We have previously shown that there is no sex difference in the digit ratios of inbred mice, but found behavioral evidence to suggest that higher 2Dratio4D is associated with more masculinized behaviors. Work examining intrauterine position effects show that neighbouring males raise pup digit ratio, suggesting again that higher digit ratios are associated with increased developmental androgens. Other work has suggested that masculinization is associated with lower digit ratios in lab mice. Here, we examine the fore- and hindlimb digit ratios of 20 inbred mouse strains. We find large inter-strain differences, but no sexual dimorphism. Digit ratios also did not correlate with mice behavioral traits. This result calls into question the use of this trait as a broadly applicable indicator for prenatal androgen exposure. We suggest that the inbred mice model presents an opportunity for researchers to investigate the genetic, and gene-environmental influence on the development of digit ratios.

Quantitative in-vivo imaging of lung perfusion in rodents can provide critical information for preclinical studies. However, the combined challenges of high temporal and spatial resolution have made routine quantitative perfusion imaging difficult in rodents. We have recently developed a dual tube/detector micro-CT scanner that is well suited to capture first-pass kinetics of a bolus of contrast agent used to compute perfusion information. Our approach is based on the paradigm that the same time density curves can be reproduced in a number of consecutive, small (i.e. 50μL) injections of iodinated contrast agent at a series of different angles. This reproducibility is ensured by the high-level integration of the imaging components of our system, with a micro-injector, a mechanical ventilator, and monitoring applications. Sampling is controlled through a biological pulse sequence implemented in LabVIEW. Image reconstruction is based on a simultaneous algebraic reconstruction technique implemented on a GPU. The capabilities of 4D micro-CT imaging are demonstrated in studies on lung perfusion in rats. We report 4D micro-CT imaging in the rat lung with a heartbeat temporal resolution of 140 ms and reconstructed voxels of 88 μm. The approach can be readily extended to a wide range of important preclinical models, such as tumor perfusion and angiogenesis, and renal function.

Building on recent advances in defining Wilsonian RG flows, and in particular the notion of scales, for background-independent theories, we present a first investigation of the renormalization of the 4d spin foam path integral for quantum gravity, both analytically and numerically. Focussing on a specific truncation of the model using a hypercubic lattice, we compute the RG flow and find strong indications for a phase transition, as well as an interesting interplay between the different observed phases and the (broken) diffeomorphism symmetry of the model. Most notably, it appears that the critical point between the phases, which is a fixed point of the RG flow, is precisely where broken diffeomorphism symmetry is restored, which suggests that it might allow for the definition a continuum limit of the quantum gravity theory.

Full Text Available In this paper we revisit the problem of localizing gravity in a 2-brane embedded in a 4D Minkowski space to address induction of high derivative massive gravity. We explore the structure of propagators to find well-behaved higher-derivative massive gravity induced on the brane. Exploring a special case in the generalized mass term of the graviton propagator we find a model of consistent higher order gravity with an additional unitary massive spin-2 particle and two massless particles: one spin-0 particle and one spin-1 particle. The condition for the absence of tachyons is satisfied for both ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ signs of the Einstein–Hilbert term on the 2-brane. We also find the Pauli–Fierz mass term added to the new massive gravity in three dimensions and recover the low-dimensional DGP model.

In this paper we revisit the problem of localizing gravity in a 2-brane embedded in a 4D Minkowski space to address induction of high derivative massive gravity. We explore the structure of propagators to find well-behaved higher-derivative massive gravity induced on the brane. Exploring a special case in the generalized mass term of the graviton propagator we find a model of consistent higher order gravity with an additional unitary massive spin-2 particle and two massless particles: one spin-0 particle and one spin-1 particle. The condition for the absence of tachyons is satisfied for both ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ signs of the Einstein–Hilbert term on the 2-brane. We also find the Pauli–Fierz mass term added to the new massive gravity in three dimensions and recover the low-dimensional DGP model.

We consider a six dimensional space-time, in which two of the dimensions are compactified by a flux. Matter can be localized on a codimension one brane coupled to the bulk gauge field and wrapped around an axis of symmetry of the internal space. By studying the linear perturbations around this background, we show that the gravitational interaction between sources on the brane is described by Einstein 4d gravity at large distances. Our model provides a consistent setup for the study of gravity in the rugby (or football) compactification, without having to deal with the complications of a delta-like, codimension two brane. To our knowledge, this is the first complete study of gravity in a realistic brane model with two extra dimensions, in which the mechanism of stabilization of the extra space is consistently taken into account.

The objective of this ongoing joint research program is to determine how 3D/4Dmodeling, simula- tion and visualization of Products (buildings), Organizations and Processes (POP) can support lean con- struction. Initial findings suggest that Process Design Pattern may have the potential to intuitively support ICT based lean construction. We initiated a "Process Archeology" in order to reveal the requirements for tools that can support the planning, simulation and control of lean construction methods. First findings show that existing tools provide only limited support and therefore, we started to develop new methodologies and technologies to overcome these shortcomings. Through the introduction of Process Design Patterns, we in- tent to establish process thinking in the interdisciplinary POP design. Optimized construction processes may be synthesized with semi-automatic methods by applying Process Design Pattems on building structures. By providing process templates that integrate problem solution and expert knowledge, Process Design Pat- tems may have the potential to ensure high quality process models.

Full Text Available Abstract Background The performance of 3D-based virtual screening similarity functions is affected by the applied conformations of compounds. Therefore, the results of 3D approaches are often less robust than 2D approaches. The application of 3D methods on multiple conformer data sets normally reduces this weakness, but entails a significant computational overhead. Therefore, we developed a special conformational space encoding by means of Gaussian mixture models and a similarity function that operates on these models. The application of a model-based encoding allows an efficient comparison of the conformational space of compounds. Results Comparisons of our 4D flexible atom-pair approach with over 15 state-of-the-art 2D- and 3D-based virtual screening similarity functions on the 40 data sets of the Directory of Useful Decoys show a robust performance of our approach. Even 3D-based approaches that operate on multiple conformers yield inferior results. The 4D flexible atom-pair method achieves an averaged AUC value of 0.78 on the filtered Directory of Useful Decoys data sets. The best 2D- and 3D-based approaches of this study yield an AUC value of 0.74 and 0.72, respectively. As a result, the 4D flexible atom-pair approach achieves an average rank of 1.25 with respect to 15 other state-of-the-art similarity functions and four different evaluation metrics. Conclusions Our 4D method yields a robust performance on 40 pharmaceutically relevant targets. The conformational space encoding enables an efficient comparison of the conformational space. Therefore, the weakness of the 3D-based approaches on single conformations is circumvented. With over 100,000 similarity calculations on a single desktop CPU, the utilization of the 4D flexible atom-pair in real-world applications is feasible.

Purpose: MRI is increasingly being used for radiotherapy planning, simulation, and in-treatment-room motion monitoring. To provide more detailed temporal and spatial MR data for these tasks, we have recently developed a novel self-gated (SG) MRI technique with advantage of k-space phase sorting, high isotropic spatial resolution, and high temporal resolution. The current work describes the validation of this 4D-MRI technique using a MRI- and CT-compatible respiratory motion phantom and comparison to 4D-CT. Methods: The 4D-MRI sequence is based on a spoiled gradient echo-based 3D projection reconstruction sequence with self-gating for 4D-MRI at 3 T. Respiratory phase is resolved by using SG k-space lines as the motion surrogate. 4D-MRI images are reconstructed into ten temporal bins with spatial resolution 1.56 × 1.56 × 1.56 mm{sup 3}. A MRI-CT compatible phantom was designed to validate the performance of the 4D-MRI sequence and 4D-CT imaging. A spherical target (diameter 23 mm, volume 6.37 ml) filled with high-concentration gadolinium (Gd) gel is embedded into a plastic box (35 × 40 × 63 mm{sup 3}) and stabilized with low-concentration Gd gel. The phantom, driven by an air pump, is able to produce human-type breathing patterns between 4 and 30 respiratory cycles/min. 4D-CT of the phantom has been acquired in cine mode, and reconstructed into ten phases with slice thickness 1.25 mm. The 4D images sets were imported into a treatment planning software for target contouring. The geometrical accuracy of the 4D MRI and CT images has been quantified using target volume, flattening, and eccentricity. The target motion was measured by tracking the centroids of the spheres in each individual phase. Motion ground-truth was obtained from input signals and real-time video recordings. Results: The dynamic phantom has been operated in four respiratory rate (RR) settings, 6, 10, 15, and 20/min, and was scanned with 4D-MRI and 4D-CT. 4D-CT images have target

Full Text Available We propose an automatic algorithm for the reconstruction of patient-specific cardiac mesh models with 1-to-1 vertex correspondence. In this framework, a series of 3D meshes depicting the endocardial surface of the heart at each time step is constructed, based on a set of border delineated magnetic resonance imaging (MRI data of the whole cardiac cycle. The key contribution in this work involves a novel reconstruction technique to generate a 4D (i.e., spatial-temporal model of the heart with 1-to-1 vertex mapping throughout the time frames. The reconstructed 3D model from the first time step is used as a base template model and then deformed to fit the segmented contours from the subsequent time steps. A method to determine a tree-based connectivity relationship is proposed to ensure robust mapping during mesh deformation. The novel feature is the ability to handle intra- and inter-frame 2D topology changes of the contours, which manifests as a series of merging and splitting of contours when the images are viewed either in a spatial or temporal sequence. Our algorithm has been tested on five acquisitions of cardiac MRI and can successfully reconstruct the full 4D heart model in around 30 minutes per subject. The generated 4D heart model conforms very well with the input segmented contours and the mesh element shape is of reasonably good quality. The work is important in the support of downstream computational simulation activities.

Analogue laboratory experiments generate 4-D flow of mantle wedge fluid and capture the evolution of buoyant mesoscale diapirs. The mantle is modeled with viscous glucose syrup with an Arrhenius type temperature dependent viscosity. To characterize diapir evolution we experiment with a variety of fluids injected from multiple point sources. Diapirs interact with kinematically induced flow fields forced by subducting plate motions replicating a range of styles observed in dynamic subduction models (e.g., rollback, steepening, gaps). Data is collected using high definition timelapse photography and quantified using image velocimetry techniques. While many studies assume direct vertical connections between the volcanic arc and the deeper mantle source region, our experiments demonstrate the difficulty of creating near vertical conduits. Results highlight extreme curvature of diapir rise paths. Trench-normal deflection occurs as diapirs are advected downward away from the trench before ascending into wedge apex directed return flow. Trench parallel deflections up to 75% of trench length are seen in all cases, exacerbated by complex geometry and rollback motion. Interdiapir interaction is also important; upwellings with similar trajectory coalesce and rapidly accelerate. Moreover, we observe a new mode of interaction whereby recycled diapir material is drawn down along the slab surface and then initiates rapid fluid migration updip along the slab-wedge interface. Variability in trajectory and residence time leads to complex petrologic inferences. Material from disparate source regions can surface at the same location, mix in the wedge, or become fully entrained in creeping flow adding heterogeneity to the mantle. Active diapirism or any other vertical fluid flux mechanism employing rheological weakening lowers viscosity in the recycling mantle wedge affecting both solid and fluid flow characteristics. Many interesting and insightful results have been presented based

Full Text Available We replicate the Stanford marshmallow experiment with a sample of 141 preschoolers and find a correlation between lack of self-control and 2D:4D digit ratio. Children with low 2D:4D digit ratio are less likely to delay gratification. Low 2D:4D digit ratio may indicate high fetal testosterone. If this hypothesis is true, our finding means high fetal testosterone children are less likely to delay gratification.

tA dwarf mutant, designated LB4D, was obtained among the progeny of backcrosses to a wild rice introgression line. Genetic analysis of LB4D indicated that the dwarf phenotype was controlled by a single semidominant dwarfing gene, which was named LB4D. The mutants were categorized as dn-type dwarf mutants according to the pattern of internode reduction. In addition, gibberellin (GA) response tests showed that LB4D plants were neither deficient nor insensitive to GA. This study found that tiller formation by LB4D plants was decreased by 40% compared with the wild type, in contrast to other dominant dwarf mutants that have been identified, indicating that a different dwarfing mechanism might be involved in the LB4D dominant mutant. The reduction of plant height in F1 plants ranged from 27.9% to 38.1% in different genetic backgrounds, showing that LB4D exerted a stronger dominant dwarfing effect.Using large F2 and F3 populations derived from a cross between heterozygous LB4D and the japonica cultivar Nipponbare, the LB4D gene was localized to a 46 kb region between the markers Indel 4 and Indel G on the short arm of chromosome 11, and four predicted genes were identified as candidates in the target region.

We investigate the synchronization and anti-synchronization of the new 4D chaotic system and propose a same adaptive controller in the form which not only synchronizes, but also anti-synchronizes two identical new 4D chaotic systems. Numerical simulations verify the correctness and the effectiveness of the proposed theoretical results.%@@ We investigate the synchronization and anti-synchronization of the new 4D chaotic system and propose a same adaptive controller in the form which not only synchronizes, but also anti-synchronizes two identical new 4D chaotic systems.Numerical simulations verify the correctness and the effectiveness of the proposed theoretical results.

We study the 4-d holomorphic Spin Foam amplitude on arbitrary connected 2-complexes and degrees of divergence. With recently developed tools and truncation scheme, we derive a formula for a certain class of graphs, which allows us to write down the value of bulk amplitudes simply based on graph properties. We then generalize the result to arbitrary connected 2-complexes and extract a simple expression for the degree of divergence only in terms of combinatorial properties and topological invariants. The distinct behaviors of the model in different regions of parameter space signal phase transitions. In the regime which is of physical interest for recovering diffeomorphsim symmetry in the continuum limit, the most divergent configurations are melonic graphs. We end with a discussion of physical implications.

Full Text Available Recently some pessimism has been expressed about our lack of progress in understanding quasars over more than fifty year since their discovery. It is worthwhile to look back at some of the progress that has been made – but still lies under the radar – perhaps because few people are working on optical/UV spectroscopy in this field. Great advances in understanding quasar phenomenology have emerged using eigenvector techniques. The 4D eigenvector 1 context provides a surrogate H-R Diagram for quasars with a source main sequence driven by Eddington ratio convolved with line-of-sight orientation. Appreciating the striking differences between quasars at opposite ends of the main sequence (so-called population A and B sources opens the door towards a unified model of quasar physics, geometry and kinematics. We present a review of some of the progress that has been made over the past 15 years, and point out unsolved issues.

A person with an asymmetric morphology of maxillofacial skeleton reportedly possesses an asymmetric jaw function and the risk to express temporomandibular disorder is high. A comprehensive analysis from the point of view of both the morphology and the function such as maxillofacial or temporomandibular joint morphology, dental occlusion, and features of mandibular movement pathways is essential. In this study, the 4D jaw movement visualization system was developed to visually understand the characteristic jaw movement, 3D maxillofacial skeleton structure, and the alignment of the upper and lower teeth of a patient. For this purpose, the 3D reconstructed images of the cranial and mandibular bones, obtained by computed tomography, were measured using a non-contact 3D measuring device, and the obtained morphological images of teeth model were integrated and activated on the 6 DOF jaw movement data. This system was experimentally applied and visualized in a jaw deformity patient and its usability as a clinical diagnostic support system was verified.

Simple models suggest that the momentum-transfer (q) dependence of inelastic electron scattering is sensitive to the difference between collective and single-particle behavior in atomic dynamics. We measured the energy centroid of the 4d continuum peak for 04d shells: Sb, Te, and BaF/sub 2/, and we find that a single-particle description is favored.

The aim of this paper is to create adaptive structures capable of self-expanding and self-shrinking by means of four-dimensional printing technology. An actuator unit is designed and fabricated directly by printing fibers of shape memory polymers (SMPs) in flexible beams with different arrangements. Experiments are conducted to determine thermo-mechanical material properties of the fabricated part revealing that the printing process introduced a strong anisotropy into the printed parts. The feasibility of the actuator unit with self-expanding and self-shrinking features is demonstrated experimentally. A phenomenological constitutive model together with analytical closed-form solutions are developed to replicate thermo-mechanical behaviors of SMPs. Governing equations of equilibrium are developed for printed structures based on the non-linear Green-Lagrange strain tensor and solved implementing a finite element method along with an iterative incremental Newton-Raphson scheme. The material-structural model is then applied to digitally design and print SMP adaptive lattices in planar and tubular shapes comprising a periodic arrangement of SMP actuator units that expand and then recover their original shape automatically. Numerical and experimental results reveal that the proposed planar lattice as meta-materials can be employed for plane actuators with self-expanding/shrinking features or as structural switches providing two different dynamic characteristics. It is also shown that the proposed tubular lattice with a self-expanding/shrinking mechanism can serve as tubular stents and grippers for bio-medical or piping applications.

Full Text Available The 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, usually named 2,4-D is one of the most widely used herbicides in the world. Acute toxicity of 2,4-D herbicide was investigated through its effects on guppies (Poecilia vivipara Bloch et Schneider 1801. Fish were exposed to the herbicide at concentrations of 10, 20 and 40µl per liter of water for 24 hours to determine its effects on gills and liver epithelia. The estimated LC50 was 34.64µl of 2,4-D per liter of water. Histochemical analyses and Feulgen's reaction were conducted to detect glycoconjugates and DNA, respectively, in gills and liver epithelia. Histochemistry revealed qualitative variations of glycoconjugates present on mucous cells and granules. The four types of mucous cells contained neutral granules, acids, or both. Increasing amounts of syalomucins were observed from the control group to the group exposed to the highest concentration of 2,4-D, suggesting increased mucous viscosity and the formation of plaques that could inhibit gas exchange and osmoregulation. Lamellar fusion observed in the group exposed to 40µl of 2,4-D suggests a defense mechanism. Hepatocytes showed vacuolization in the 10 and 20µl/L groups. The 40 µl/L group showed normal hepatocytes as well as changed ones, many Ito cells, micronuclei, and nuclear swelling. These effects may be associated with toxicity or adaptative processes to cellular stress. The data from this study indicates the importance of assessing similar risks to aquatic species and suggests that Poecilia vivipara is an adequate biological model for analysis of environmental contamination.

Most cultural heritage applications address visualization with using various media or platforms: desktop-based multimedia presentations, museum kiosks, or videos produced with computer animation. However, these techniques can not directly reveal or show the course that the colorful surface of painted sculpture and murals becomes faint along with the change of the climate and time. Most current techniques just preserve the current appearance and disseminate the current situation of the painted sculpture and murals. The course how these forms of cultural heritage change along the time has not been visualized. In this paper we developed an approach to modelling of painted sculpture and murals that has undergone changes over the years. Different hypotheses has also be given if there is uncertainty. A painted sculpture of Mogao Grottoes is used to demonstate this approach.

We present new results towards the construction of the most general black hole solutions in four-dimensional Fayet-Iliopoulos gauged supergravities. In these theories black holes can be asymptotically AdS and have arbitrary mass, angular momentum, electric and magnetic charges and NUT charge. Furthermore, a wide range of horizon topologies is allowed (compact and noncompact) and the complex scalar fields have a nontrivial radial and angular profile. We construct a large class of solutions in the simplest single scalar model with prepotential F=−iX{sup 0}X{sup 1} and discuss their thermodynamics. Moreover, various approaches and calculational tools for facing this problem with more general prepotentials are presented.

We formulate a 4-dimensional higher gauge theoretic Chern-Simons theory. Its symmetry is encoded in a semistrict Lie 2-algebra equipped with an invariant non singular bilinear form. We analyze the gauge invariance of the theory and show that action is invariant under a higher gauge transformation up to a higher winding number. We find that the theory admits two seemingly inequivalent canonical quantizations. The first is manifestly topological, it does not require a choice of any additional structure on the spacial 3-fold. The second, more akin to that of ordinary Chern-Simons theory, involves fixing a CR structure on the latter. Correspondingly, we obtain two sets of semistrict higher WZW Ward identities and we find the explicit expressions of two higher versions of the WZW action. We speculate that the model could be used to define 2-knot invariants of 4-folds.

In previous work we have shown that the (\\theta->\\infty)-limit of \\phi^4_4-quantum field theory on noncommutative Moyal space is an exactly solvable matrix model. In this paper we translate these results to position space. We show that the Schwinger functions are symmetric and invariant under the full Euclidean group. The Schwinger functions only depend on matrix correlation functions at coinciding indices per topological sector, and clustering is violated. We prove that Osterwalder-Schrader reflection positivity of the Schwinger two-point function is equivalent to the question whether the diagonal matrix two-point function is a Stieltjes function. Numerical investigations suggest that this can at best be expected for the wrong sign of the coupling constant. The corresponding Wightman functions would describe particles which interact without momentum transfer. The theory differs from a free theory by the presence of non-trivial topological sectors.

This report, compiled by experts on the treatment of mobile targets with advanced radiotherapy, summarizes the main conclusions and innovations achieved during the 4D treatment planning workshop 2013. This annual workshop focuses on research aiming to advance 4D radiotherapy treatments, including al

The ratio of the length of the second finger (index finger) to the fourth finger (ring finger) (2D:4D ratio) is a putative marker for prenatal hormones. Physiological research has suggested a low 2D:4D ratio correlates with high athletic ability. Athletes of specific sports (e.g., American football) have lower 2D:4D ratios than those of nonathletes, whereas athletes of some sports (e.g., rowing, gymnastics, and soccer) do not. This study investigated the 2D:4D ratios among collegiate tennis athletes, elite collegiate tennis athletes, and nonelite collegiate tennis athletes and compared them with nonathletes of both sexes. The participants included 43 elite collegiate tennis athletes (Level I intercollegiate athletes in Taiwan; 27 males and 16 females), 107 nonelite collegiate tennis athletes (Level II athletes; 55 males and 52 females), and 166 nonathlete college students (80 males and 86 females). The principle findings suggest that (a) regardless of sex, collegiate tennis athletes have lower 2D:4D values than those of nonathletes; (b) elite collegiate tennis athletes have lower 2D:4D values than those of nonathletes; (c) among females but not males, athletes and nonelite athletes have lower 2D:4D values than those of nonathletes; and (d) males have lower 2D:4D values than those of females.

It has been shown that a smaller ratio between the length of the second and fourth digit (2D:4D) is an indicator of the exposure to prenatal testosterone (T). This study measured the 2D:4D of men and assessed dominance as a personality trait to investigate indirectly if the exposure to prenatal T is

Full Text Available INTRODUCTION: The ratio of the length of the second finger to the fourth finger (2D:4D in humans is considered as a putative marker of prenatal exposure to testosterone, and has been progressively adopted as one useful tool to evaluate the effect of prenatal hormones in some traits such as physical ability. Handgrip strength is one authentic measure of physical ability and is generally used on the anthropological research within an evolutionary viewpoint. METHODS: Here we present the first evidence on 2D:4D and handgrip strength on adult participants of Hani ethnicity and explore the relationship between digit ratio (2D:4D and handgrip strength. We examined 2D:4D and handgrip strength of 80 males and 60 females at Bubeng village, in the Yunnan province of China. RESULTS: The mean 2D:4D in females was higher than that in males for each hand. Females showed significantly higher 2D:4D than males in the right hand rather than in the left hand. Males displayed significantly higher handgrip strength than females for both hands. Handgrip strength decreased with age for both sexes. A significant negative correlation between 2D:4D and handgrip strength was found in the right hand of males. CONCLUSION: The relationship between 2D:4D and handgrip strength may be attributed to evolutionary drive of sexual selection operating on fetal programming.

C4d is a footprint of antibody-mediated classical complement activation, and has evolved as a useful diagnostic marker of antibody-mediated rejection. It is unknown if complement activation, as reflected by C4d deposition plays a role in unexplained recurrent miscarriage. In a case-control study pro

Full Text Available Although relations between 2D:4D and dominance rank in both baboons and rhesus macaques have been observed, evidence in humans is mixed. Whereas behavioral patterns in humans have been discovered that are consistent with these animal findings, the evidence for a relation between dominance and 2D:4D is weak or inconsistent. The present study provides experimental evidence that male 2D:4D is related to dominance after (fictitious male-male interaction when the other man has a dominant, but not a submissive or neutral face. This finding provides evidence that the relationship between 2D:4D and dominance emerges in particular, predictable situations and that merely dominant facial characteristics of another person are enough to activate supposed relationships between 2D:4D and dominance.

In a recent XUV photoabsorption spectrum of Cs Ⅲ ions by Cummings and O'Sullivan [2001 J. Phys. B 34 199], rather large linewidths were found for the 4d 95s25p6 - 4d 105s25p5 transition which are quite in disagreement with corresponding quasi-relativistic multiconfiguration Hartree-Fock (MCHF) calculation. In the present work, a detailed multiconfiguration Dirac-Fock study has been carried out to explore this discrepancy. Owing to the detailed consid- eration of electron correlation effects, some 'forbidden' Auger decay channels, such as 4d 105s25p35d and 4d105s05p6, would become 'open'. As a result, remarkable improvement of the linewidths has been obtained in our calculation. Furthermore, the theoretical Auger spectrum of the 4d 95s25p6 core-excited states of Cs Ⅲ ions is given in the present work.

Four-dimensional (4D) simplicial quantum gravity coupled to both scalar fields (N_X) and gauge fields (N_A) has been studied using Monte-Carlo simulations. The matter dependence of the string susceptibility exponent gamma^{(4)} is estimated. Furthermore, we compare our numerical results with Background-Metric-Independent (BMI) formulation conjectured to describe the quantum field theory of gravity in 4D. The numerical results suggest that the 4D simplicial quantum gravity is related to the conformal gravity in 4D. Therefore, we propose a phase structure in detail with adding both scalar and gauge fields and discuss the possibility and the property of a continuum theory of 4D Euclidean simplicial quantum gravity.

Full Text Available For the last two decades, the notion of Information Communication Technologies for Development (ICT4D has had significant traction in both praxis and scholarly work of international development. While it has dystopia and utopia dimensions, ICT4D came out of particular history and intellectual climates. The historical and political contexts that shaped the ICT4D agenda deserve examination. Grounded within the canon of neo-Gramscian perspectives, this paper discusses the geopolitical construct of the ICT4D agenda and the agenda-building roles of international institutions in the process. In situating the ICT4D agenda in the geopolitical context, this paper highlights the institutional discursive structure and embedded geometries of power relations in the global communication and international development agenda.

The understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying acquired herbicide resistance is crucial in dealing with the emergence of resistant weeds. Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been used as a model system to gain insights into the mechanisms underlying resistance to the herbicide 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D). The TPO1 gene, encoding a multidrug resistance (MDR) plasma membrane transporter of the major facilitator superfamily (MFS), was previously found to confer resistance to 2,4-D in yeast and to be transcriptionally activated in response to the herbicide. In this work, we demonstrate that Tpo1p is required to reduce the intracellular concentration of 2,4-D. ScTpo1p homologs encoding putative plasma membrane MFS transporters from the plant model Arabidopsis thaliana were analyzed for a possible role in 2,4-D resistance. At5g13750 was chosen for further analysis, as its transcript levels were found to increase in 2,4-D stressed plants. The functional heterologous expression of this plant open reading frame in yeast was found to confer increased resistance to the herbicide in Deltatpo1 and wild-type cells, through the reduction of the intracellular concentration of 2,4-D. Heterologous expression of At5g13750 in yeast also leads to increased resistance to indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), Al(3+) and Tl(3+). At5g13750 is the first plant putative MFS transporter to be suggested as possibly involved in MDR.

This is a handbook of calculated electronic properties of elements and of 3d/3d and 4d/4d ordered alloys. The book derives the ground-state or equilibrium properties of the metallic elements in both bcc and fcc structures, and of existing and nonexisting ordered binary transition-metal alloys in CsCl, CuAu, and Cu 3 Au structures by the analysis of binding curves, or total energy vs. volume curves, calculated from first-principles augmented-spherical-wave methods. The calculated properties, energy bands along symmetry lines in the respective Brillouin zones, and the total and I-decomposed dens

The aim of this study is to develop an Automatic Post-processing Tool for four-dimensional (4D) treatment planning (APT4D) that enables the user to perform some necessary procedures related to 4D treatment planning, such as automated image registration, automatic propagation of regions of interest, and dose distribution transformation. Demons-based deformable registrations were performed to map the moving phase images (such as the end-inhalation phase or 0% phase) to the reference phase (typically the end-exhalation fixed phase or 50% phase). Contours were automatically propagated into the moving phase using the image registration results. The dose distribution of each moving phase was transformed to the fixed phase and subsequently was summed as an average with equal weighting factor. To validate the application of APT4D utility, the 4D computed tomography (CT) images of a lung cancer patient and an abdominal cancer patient were acquired and resorted into ten respiratory phases. 4D plans based on the 4D CT images were developed. The correlation coefficient ranged from 0.992 to 0.999 for the re-sampled deformed moving phase image against the fixed phase image for the lung patient plan and from 0.977 to 0.999 for the abdominal patient plan. For all the organs, the match indices between the manual contours and automatic contour propagation results were around 0.92 to 0.95. The 4D composite dose-volume histogram showed dosimetric reductions for liver and kidneys in the high dose region. The APT4D adds automation, efficiency, and functionality, while integrating the whole process of 4D treatment planning.

-transition metals (Tc, Ru, Rh, to Pd) are presented. The magnetic state of Fe changes gradually from noncollinear 120 Neel state for Fe films on Tc, and Ru, to the double-row-wise antiferromagnetic state on Rh, to the ferromagnetic one on Pd and Ag. The noncollinear state is a result of antiferromagnetic intersite exchange interactions in combination with the triangular lattice provided by the hexagonal surface termination of the (111) surfaces. A similar systematic trend is observed for a Co monolayer on these substrate, but shifted towards ferromagnetism equivalent to one element in the periodic table. Also the magnetic properties of Co chains on stepped Rh(111) surfaces is investigated. It is shown that the easy axis of the magnetization changes from out-of-plane in case of a Co monolayer to in-plane for the atomic chain. The Heisenberg model was extended by a Stoner-like term to include the induced magnetization of the 4d substrate. The results are based on the density functional theory in the vector-spin-density formulation employing the spin-polarized local density and generalized gradient approximation. The self-consistent relativistic total energy and force calculations have been carried out with the full-potential linearized augmented plane wave (FLAPW) method in the film geometry. The concept of total-energy calculations with incommensurable spin-spirals of wave vectors along the high-symmetry lines in the two-dimensional Brillouin zone was applied to search for the magnetic ground states. (orig.)

Radiotherapy of lung and liver lesions has changed from normofractioned 3D-CRT to stereotactic treatment in a single or few fractions, often employing volumetric arc therapy (VMAT)-based techniques. Potential unintended interference of respiratory target motion and dynamically changing beam parameters during VMAT dose delivery motivates establishing 4D quality assurance (4D QA) procedures to assess appropriateness of generated VMAT treatment plans when taking into account patient-specific motion characteristics. Current approaches are motion phantom-based 4D QA and image-based 4D VMAT dose simulation. Whereas phantom-based 4D QA is usually restricted to a small number of measurements, the computational approaches allow simulating many motion scenarios. However, 4D VMAT dose simulation depends on various input parameters, influencing estimated doses along with mitigating simulation reliability. Thus, aiming at routine use of simulation-based 4D VMAT QA, the impact of such parameters as well as the overall accuracy of the 4D VMAT dose simulation has to be studied in detail–which is the topic of the present work. In detail, we introduce the principles of 4D VMAT dose simulation, identify influencing parameters and assess their impact on 4D dose simulation accuracy by comparison of simulated motion-affected dose distributions to corresponding dosimetric motion phantom measurements. Exploiting an ITV-based treatment planning approach, VMAT treatment plans were generated for a motion phantom and different motion scenarios (sinusoidal motion of different period/direction; regular/irregular motion). 4D VMAT dose simulation results and dose measurements were compared by local 3% / 3 mm γ-evaluation, with the measured dose distributions serving as ground truth. Overall γ-passing rates of simulations and dynamic measurements ranged from 97% to 100% (mean across all motion scenarios: 98% ± 1%); corresponding values for comparison of different day repeat measurements were

The Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS) 4-dimensional variational (4D-Var) data assimilation tool has been used to compute two sequences of circulation analyses for the U.S. west coast. One sequence of analyses spans the period 1980-2010 and is subject to surface forcing derived from relatively low resolution atmospheric products from the Cross-Calibrated Multi-Platform wind product (CCMP) and the European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) reanalysis project. The second sequence spans the shorter period 1999-2012 and is subject to forcing derived from a high resolution product from the Naval Research Laboratory Coupled Ocean Atmosphere Mesoscale Prediction System (COAMPS). The two analysis periods are divided into eight day windows, and all available satellite observations of sea surface temperature and sea surface height, as well as in situhydrographic profiles are assimilated into ROMS using 4D-Var. The performance of the system is monitored in terms of the cost function and the statistics of the innovations, and the impact of data assimilated on the circulation is assessed by comparing the posterior circulation estimates with the prior circulation and the circulation from a run of the model without data assimilation, with particular emphasis on eddy kinetic energy. This is part I of a two part series, and the circulation variability of the 4D-Var analyses will be documented in part II.

The feasibility of applying Capacitively Coupled Contactless Conductivity Detection (C4D) technique to measurement of bubble velocity in gas-liquid two-phase flow in millimeter-scale pipe is investigated.And,a new method,which combines the C4D technique and the principle of cross-correlation velocity measurement,is proposed for the measurement of bubble velocity.This research includes two parts.First,based on the principle of C4D,a new five-electrode C4D sensor is developed.Then,with two conductivity signals obtained by the C4D sensor,the velocity measurement of bubble is implemented according to the principle of cross-correlation.The research results indicate that the C4D technique is highly effective and anticipates a broad potential in the field of two-phase flow.Experimental results show that the fiveelectrode C4D sensor is suitable for measuring the velocity of single bubbles with a relative error of less than 5％.

Purpose: Treatments like radiotherapy and focused ultrasound in the abdomen require accurate motion tracking, in order to optimize dosage delivery to the target and minimize damage to critical structures and healthy tissues around the target. 4D ultrasound is a promising modality for motion tracking during such treatments. In this study, the authors evaluate the accuracy of motion tracking in the liver based on deformable registration of 4D ultrasound images. Methods: The offline analysis was performed using a nonrigid registration algorithm that was specifically designed for motion estimation from dynamic imaging data. The method registers the entire 4D image data sequence in a groupwise optimization fashion, thus avoiding a bias toward a specifically chosen reference time point. Three healthy volunteers were scanned over several breathing cycles (12 s) from three different positions and angles on the abdomen; a total of nine 4D scans for the three volunteers. Well-defined anatomic landmarks were manually annotated in all 96 time frames for assessment of the automatic algorithm. The error of the automatic motion estimation method was compared with interobserver variability. The authors also performed experiments to investigate the influence of parameters defining the deformation field flexibility and evaluated how well the method performed with a lower temporal resolution in order to establish the minimum frame rate required for accurate motion estimation. Results: The registration method estimated liver motion with an error of 1 mm (75% percentile over all datasets), which was lower than the interobserver variability of 1.4 mm. The results were only slightly dependent on the degrees of freedom of the deformation model. The registration error increased to 2.8 mm with an eight times lower temporal resolution. Conclusions: The authors conclude that the methodology was able to accurately track the motion of the liver in the 4D ultrasound data. The authors believe

Purpose: To develop a method to create ventilation CTs from daily 4D CTs or 4D KV conebeam CTs (4DCBCT) acquired during image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT) for thoracic tumors, and to explore the potential for using the ventilation CTs as a means for early detection of lung injury during radiation treatment. Methods: 4DCT acquired using an in-room CT (CTVision, Siemens) and 4DCBCT acquired using the X-ray Volume Imaging (XVI) system (Infinity, Elekta) for representative lung cancer patients were analyzed. These 4D data sets were sorted into 10 phase images. A newly-available deformable image registration tool (ADMIRE, Elekta) is used to deform the phase images at the end of exhale (EE) to the phase images at the end of inhale (EI). The lung volumes at EI and EE were carefully contoured using an intensity-based auto-contour tool and then manually edited. The ventilation images were calculated from the variations of CT numbers of those voxels masked by the lung contour at EI between the registered phase images. The deformable image registration is also performed between the daily 4D images and planning 4DCT, and the resulting deformable field vector (DFV) is used to deform the planning doses to the daily images by an in-house Matlab program. Results: The ventilation images were successfully created. The tide volumes calculated using the ventilation images agree with those measured through volume difference of contours at EE and EI, indicating the accuracy of ventilation images. The association between the delivered doses and the change of lung ventilation from the daily ventilation CTs is identified. Conclusions: A method to create the ventilation CT using daily 4DCTs or 4D KV conebeam CTs was developed and demonstrated.

The phenoxy herbicides 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) and 2-(2-methyl-4-chlorophenoxy)propionic acid (MCPP) have auxin-like growth regulating properties and are extensively used for the control of broad-leaf angiosperm weeds. The microbiological degradation of 2,4-D by pure and mixed cultures has been examined in a number of studies. The authors have previously evaluated the concurrent microbiological degradation of 2,4-D and MCPP in stirred tank reactors. For the present paper, they examined the utilization of the two substrates by three mixed cultures that had a previous history of growth with the respective single phenoxy herbicide.

Full Text Available Xiaojie Ding,1,2,* Lijuan Qiu,1,2,* Lijuan Zhang,3 Juemin Xi,1,2 Duo Li,1,2 Xinwei Huang,1,2 Yujiao Zhao,1,2 Xiaodang Wang,1,2 Qiangming Sun1,2 1Institute of Medical Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, 2Molecular Epidemiology Joint Laboratory, Yunnan Key Laboratory of Vaccine Research & Development on Severe Infectious Diseases, 3Department of Pathology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University (Yunnan Provincial Tumor Hospital, Kunming, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workBackground: Semaphorin 4D (Sema4D belongs to the class IV semaphorins, and accumulating evidence has indicated that its elevated level may be one strategy by which tumors evade current antiangiogenic therapies. The biological roles of Sema4D in colorectal cancer (CRC, however, remain largely undefined. This study was designed to investigate the effects of Sema4D on tumor angiogenesis and growth in CRC, especially in different vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF backgrounds.Methods: The expression of Sema4D in human CRC was evaluated by immunohistochemical analysis of tumors and their matching normal control tissues. The expression level of Sema4D and VEGF was investigated in different CRC cell lines. To evaluate the contributions of Sema4D to tumor-induced angiogenesis, two CRC cell lines with opposite VEGF backgrounds were infected with lentiviruses expressing Sema4D or Sema4D short hairpin RNA, followed by in vitro migration and in vivo tumor angiogenic assays.Results: Immunohistochemical analysis of human CRC revealed high levels of Sema4D in a cell surface pattern. In all, 84.85% of CRC samples analyzed exhibited moderate to strong Sema4D expression. The positive ratios of Sema4D staining for well, moderately, and poorly differentiated cancers were 71.43%, 96.67%, and 77.27%, respectively. Sema4D is highly expressed in five different CRC cell lines, while VEGF

We consider a class of models with gauged U(1)_R symmetry in 4D N=1 supergravity that have, at the classical level, a metastable ground state, an infinitesimally small (tunable) positive cosmological constant and a TeV gravitino mass. We analyse if these properties are maintained under the addition of visible sector (MSSM-like) and hidden sector state(s), where the latter may be needed for quantum consistency. We then discuss the anomaly cancellation conditions in supergravity as derived by Freedman, Elvang and K\\"ors and apply their results to the special case of a U(1)_R symmetry, in the presence of the Fayet-Iliopoulos term ($\\xi$) and Green-Schwarz mechanism(s). We investigate the relation of these anomaly cancellation conditions to the "naive" field theory approach in global SUSY, in which case U(1)_R cannot even be gauged. We show the two approaches give similar conditions. Their induced constraints at the phenomenological level, on the above models, remain strong even if one lifted the GUT-like conditi...

In this work, it is studied a wind-powered electrokinetic soil flushing process for the removal of pesticides from soil. This approach aims to develop an eco-friendly electrochemical soil treatment technique and to face the in-situ treatment of polluted soils at remote locations. Herbicide 2,4 dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) is selected as a model pollutant for the soil treatment tests. The performance of the wind-powered process throughout a 15 days experiment is compared to the same remediation process powered by a conventional DC power supply. The wind-powered test covered many different wind conditions (from calm to near gale), being performed 20.7% under calm conditions and 17% under moderate or gentle breeze. According to the results obtained, the wind-powered soil treatment is feasible, obtaining a 53.9% removal of 2,4-D after 15 days treatment. Nevertheless, the remediation is more efficient if it is fed by a constant electric input (conventional DC power supply), reaching a 90.2% removal of 2,4-D with a much lower amount of charge supplied (49.2 A h kg(-1) and 4.33 A h kg(-1) for wind-powered and conventional) within the same operation time.

Highlights: • New 4-substituted-pyrazolo[3,4-d]pyridazinones were synthesized. • Kinetic parameters were determined by Friedmam and Ozawa–Flynn–Wall (OFW) methods. • Compound 2a was more stable than the 2d independent of the model used. • Degradation reaction of 2a and 2d occurs in a single-step. • Amorphous content of 2a and 2d was 48% and 74%, respectively. - Abstract: This work describes the synthesis of new 4-substituted-pyrazolo[3,4-d]pyridazinones (R = C{sub 6}H{sub 5}, 4-F-C{sub 6}H{sub 4}, benzofur-2-yl, CF{sub 3}, 4-NO{sub 2}-C{sub 6}H{sub 4}) from the reaction of dicarbonylpyrazoles with hydrazine hydrate. Solid and solution-state NMR were used to unequivocally assign the structure and identification of the byproduct formed when R = 4-NO{sub 2}-C{sub 6}H{sub 4}. Geometrical features and the intermolecular interactions of compounds were described using single crystal X-ray diffraction. The thermal behavior of the compounds was studied using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Kinetic parameters, such as the activation energy (E{sub a}) and pre-exponential factor (A), were determined as a function of the conversion degree for the thermal decomposition of two compounds, by using the isoconversional methods of Friedman and Ozawa–Flynn–Wall (OFW). The results showed that the E{sub a} for thermal decomposition of compound with R = CF{sub 3} is always higher than for compound with R = C{sub 6}H{sub 5}, independent of the model used (Friedman or OFW), indicating that the former is more stable than the latter. Furthermore, the E{sub a} values for compounds with R = C{sub 6}H{sub 5} and CF{sub 3} are practically constant for all α values from 0.1 to 0.9, indicating the existence of a single-step degradation reaction. The kinetics results also reveal the linear dependence of E{sub a} on the pre-exponential factor. In addition, the 4-substituted-pyrazolo[3,4-d]pyridazinones studied have two types of thermal

Full Text Available Inherited neurodegenerative disorders are debilitating diseases that occur across different species. We have performed clinical, pathological and genetic studies to characterize a novel canine neurodegenerative disease present in the Lagotto Romagnolo dog breed. Affected dogs suffer from progressive cerebellar ataxia, sometimes accompanied by episodic nystagmus and behavioral changes. Histological examination revealed unique pathological changes, including profound neuronal cytoplasmic vacuolization in the nervous system, as well as spheroid formation and cytoplasmic aggregation of vacuoles in secretory epithelial tissues and mesenchymal cells. Genetic analyses uncovered a missense change, c.1288G>A; p.A430T, in the autophagy-related ATG4D gene on canine chromosome 20 with a highly significant disease association (p = 3.8 x 10-136 in a cohort of more than 2300 Lagotto Romagnolo dogs. ATG4D encodes a poorly characterized cysteine protease belonging to the macroautophagy pathway. Accordingly, our histological analyses indicated altered autophagic flux in affected tissues. The knockdown of the zebrafish homologue atg4da resulted in a widespread developmental disturbance and neurodegeneration in the central nervous system. Our study describes a previously unknown canine neurological disease with particular pathological features and implicates the ATG4D protein as an important autophagy mediator in neuronal homeostasis. The canine phenotype serves as a model to delineate the disease-causing pathological mechanism(s and ATG4D function, and can also be used to explore treatment options. Furthermore, our results reveal a novel candidate gene for human neurodegeneration and enable the development of a genetic test for veterinary diagnostic and breeding purposes.

A relation between the 4d superconformal index and the S^3 partition function is studied with focus on the 4d and 3d actions used in localization. In the case of vanishing Chern-Simons levels and round S^3 we explicitly show that the 3d action is obtained from the 4d action by dimensional reduction up to terms which do not affect the exact results. By combining this fact and a recent proposal concerning a squashing of S^3 and SU(2) Wilson line, we obtain a formula which gives the partition function depending on the Weyl weight of chiral multiplets, real mass parameters, FI parameters, and a squashing parameter as a limit of the index of a parent 4d theory.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — A method to quantify the probabilistic controller taskload inherent to maintaining aircraft adherence to 4-D trajectories within flow corridors is presented. An...

Androgen-dependent signaling regulates the growth of the fingers on the human hand during embryogenesis. A higher androgen load results in lower 2D:4D (second digit to fourth digit) ratio values. Prenatal androgen exposure also impacts brain development. 2D:4D values are usually lower in males and are viewed as a proxy of male brain organization. Here, we quantified video gaming behavior in young males. We found lower mean 2D:4D values in subjects who were classified according to the CSAS-II as having at-risk/addicted behavior (n = 27) compared with individuals with unproblematic video gaming behavior (n = 27). Thus, prenatal androgen exposure and a hyper-male brain organization, as represented by low 2D:4D values, are associated with problematic video gaming behavior. These results may be used to improve the diagnosis, prediction, and prevention of video game addiction.

Full Text Available Androgen-dependent signaling regulates the growth of the fingers on the human hand during embryogenesis. A higher androgen load results in lower 2D:4D (second digit to fourth digit ratio values. Prenatal androgen exposure also impacts brain development. 2D:4D values are usually lower in males and are viewed as a proxy of male brain organization. Here, we quantified video gaming behavior in young males. We found lower mean 2D:4D values in subjects who were classified according to the CSAS-II as having at-risk/addicted behavior (n = 27 compared with individuals with unproblematic video gaming behavior (n = 27. Thus, prenatal androgen exposure and a hyper-male brain organization, as represented by low 2D:4D values, are associated with problematic video gaming behavior. These results may be used to improve the diagnosis, prediction, and prevention of video game addiction.

This study introduces a practical four-dimensional (4D) planning scheme of IMAT using 4D computed tomography (4D CT) for planning tumor tracking with dynamic multileaf beam collimation. We assume that patients can breathe regularly, i.e. the same way as during 4D CT with an unchanged period and amplitude, and that the start of 4D-IMAT delivery can be synchronized with a designated respiratory phase. Each control point of the IMAT-delivery process can be associated with an image set of 4D CT at a specified respiratory phase. Target is contoured at each respiratory phase without a motion-induced margin. A 3D-IMAT plan is first optimized on a reference-phase image set of 4D CT. Then, based on the projections of the planning target volume in the beam’s eye view at different respiratory phases, a 4D-IMAT plan is generated by transforming the segments of the optimized 3D plan by using a direct aperture deformation method. Compensation for both translational and deformable tumor motion is accomplished, and the smooth delivery of the transformed plan is ensured by forcing connectivity between adjacent angles (control points). It is envisioned that the resultant plans can be delivered accurately using the dose rate regulated tracking method which handles breathing irregularities (Yi et al 2008 Med. Phys. 35 3955–62).This planning process is straightforward and only adds a small step to current clinical 3D planning practice. Our 4D planning scheme was tested on three cases to evaluate dosimetric benefits. The created 4D-IMAT plans showed similar dose distributions as compared with the 3D-IMAT plans on a single static phase, indicating that our method is capable of eliminating the dosimetric effects of breathing induced target motion. Compared to the 3D-IMAT plans with large treatment margins encompassing respiratory motion, our 4D-IMAT plans reduced radiation doses to surrounding normal organs and tissues.

Abnormal alterations in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) flow are thought to play an important role in pathophysiology of various craniospinal disorders such as hydrocephalus and Chiari malformation. Three directional phase contrast MRI (4D Flow) has been proposed as one method for quantification of the CSF dynamics in healthy and disease states, but prior to further implementation of this technique, its accuracy in measuring CSF velocity magnitude and distribution must be evaluated. In this study, an MR-compatible experimental platform was developed based on an anatomically detailed 3D printed model of the cervical subarachnoid space and subject specific flow boundary conditions. Accuracy of 4D Flow measurements was assessed by comparison of CSF velocities obtained within the in vitro model with the numerically predicted velocities calculated from a spatially averaged computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model based on the same geometry and flow boundary conditions. Good agreement was observed between CFD and 4D Flow in terms of spatial distribution and peak magnitude of through-plane velocities with an average difference of 7.5 and 10.6% for peak systolic and diastolic velocities, respectively. Regression analysis showed lower accuracy of 4D Flow measurement at the timeframes corresponding to low CSF flow rate and poor correlation between CFD and 4D Flow in-plane velocities.

A reference system for accessing anatomical information from a complete 3D structure of the whole body "living human", including 4D cardiac dynamics, was reconstructed with 3D and 4D data sets obtained from normal volunteers. With this system, we were able to produce a human atlas in which sectional images can be accessed from any part of the human body interactively by real-time image generation.

Three-dimensional (3D)/four-dimensional (4D) volume ultrasound is an established method in human medicine that offers various options for analysing and presenting ultrasound volume data. However, the successful application of the different 3D/4D imaging modalities in pregnant dogs and cats has not yet been reported in the literature. The main reasons for this are: (1) the high costs of 3D/4D ultrasound systems, (2) operation difficulties due to high breathing frequency in non-sedated animals and (3) the missing specific knowledge in veterinary medicine concerning how to perform high-quality volume scans. Automatically acquired ultrasound volume data sets were generated with two different ultrasound systems: the portable Voluson i and the stationary Voluson Expert 730. Different 3D/4D imaging modalities were tested in regard of their practicability in pregnancy monitoring in dogs and cats. Nine different volume imaging modalities were applied using the saved files. For the presentation of the static 3D volume data sets, we used the multiplanar, niche, surface, transparency, glass body, inversion, volume calculation and tomographic ultrasound imaging modes. For the dynamic 4D data, the surface and glass body modes were applied. By changing the human standard settings to the requirements of small animal anatomy, it was found that 3D/4D ultrasound has great potential for the characterization of pregnancy in queens and bitches. The 3D/4D technology offered advanced information about pregnancy status and birth prediction and improved the diagnostic confidence. By using standardized examination protocols, 3D/4D ultrasound will allow a reduction in examination time by generating even more relevant information. These benefits, combined with possible future cost reduction of commercial ultrasound systems, might lead to frequent utilization in routine pregnancy diagnostic and birth management in small animal practice.

The second to fourth digit ratio (2D:4D) is a sexually dimorphic trait (men tend to have lower values than women) and a likely biomarker for the organizational (permanent) effects of prenatal androgens on the human brain and body. Prenatal testosterone, as reflected by 2D:4D, has many extragenital effects, including its relevance for the formation of an efficient cardiovascular system. Previous research, reviewed here, has therefore investigated possible associations of 2D:4D with sport performance. Several studies found more masculinized digit ratio patterns (low 2D:4D values or a negative right-minus-left difference in 2D:4D) to be related to high performance in running, soccer, and skiing. The present research tested this hypothesis in a sample of 54 tournament fencers, predominantly from Austria. For men, negative right-left differences in 2D:4D corresponded significantly to better current as well as highest national fencing rankings, independent of training intensity and fencing experience. The mean 2D:4D values of these fencers were significantly lower and the proportion of left-handers was elevated relative to the local general population. For the right hand, the ratio was somewhat lower in male sabre fencers than in male epée and foil fencers combined and significantly lower in left-handed compared to right-handed fencers. Although nonsignificant due to low statistical power, effect sizes suggested that crossed versus congruent hand-eye and hand-foot preferences might also be related to fencing performance. The present findings add to the evidence that 2D:4D might be a performance indicator for men across a variety of sports.

In order to improve operational safety and efficiency, the transportation industry, including aviation, has an urgent need for accurate diagnoses and predictions of clouds and associated weather conditions. Adverse weather accounts for 70% of all air traffic delays within the U.S. National Airspace System. The Federal Aviation Administration has determined that as much as two thirds of weather-related delays are potentially avoidable with better weather information and roughly 20% of all aviation accidents are weather related. Thus, it is recognized that an important factor in meeting the goals of the Next Generation Transportation System (NexGen) vision is the improved integration of weather information. The concept of a 4-D weather cube is being developed to address that need by integrating observed and forecasted weather information into a shared 4-D database, providing an integrated and nationally consistent weather picture for a variety of users and to support operational decision support systems. Weather analyses and forecasts derived using Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) models are a critical tool that forecasters rely on for guidance and also an important element in current and future decision support systems. For example, the Rapid Update Cycle (RUC) and the recently implemented Rapid Refresh (RR) Weather Research and Forecast (WRF) models provide high frequency forecasts and are key elements of the FAA Aviation Weather Research Program. Because clouds play a crucial role in the dynamics and thermodynamics of the atmosphere, they must be adequately accounted for in NWP models. The RUC, for example, cycles at full resolution five cloud microphysical species (cloud water, cloud ice, rain, snow, and graupel) and has the capability of updating these fields from observations. In order to improve the models initial state and subsequent forecasts, cloud top altitude (or temperature, T(sub c)) derived from operational satellite data, surface observations of

Full Text Available The ratio of the lengths of the second and fourth finger (2D∶4D has been described as reflecting the degree of prenatal androgen exposure in humans. 2D∶4D is smaller for males than females and is associated with traits such as left-handedness, physical aggression, attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder and a genetic polymorphism of the androgen receptor. All of these traits are known to be correlated to the vulnerability for alcohol dependency. We therefore hypothesized low 2D∶4D in patients with alcohol dependency. In the present study on 131 patients suffering from alcohol dependency and 185 healthy volunteers, we found that alcohol dependent patients had smaller 2D∶4D ratios compared to controls with preserved sexual dimorphism but with reduced right-left differences. The detection of alcohol dependency based on 2D∶4D ratios was most accurate using the right hand of males (ROC-analysis: AUC 0.725, sensitivity 0.667, specificity 0.723. These findings provide novel insights into the role of prenatal androgen exposure in the development of alcohol dependency and for the use of 2D∶4D as a possible trait marker in identifying patients with alcohol dependency.

C4d deposition in the peritubular capillaries is known to be correlated with antibody-mediated rejection (AMR) in renal allografts. An intraoperative zero-hour biopsy during transplantation is considered an indicator to indirectly determine the status of the donor kidney. In this study, we investigated the relationship between C4d immunoreactivity of intraoperative zero-hour biopsy in renal allograft, thought to be due to donor condition, and acute rejection episodes during follow-up. We collected 147 renal transplantation cases examining intraoperative zero-hour biopsy with C4d immunohistochemical staining. All cases were from the Seoul National University Hospital between 2010 and 2011. Of the 147 cases, 24 (16.3%) showed strong C4d staining in the glomeruli, 38 (25.9%) showed weak staining, and the remainder (57.8%) showed negative staining. Nine cases (6.1%) showed positive C4d staining in the arterioles, and the remainder (93.9%) were negative. There were no significant differences between acute T-cell-mediated rejection and acute AMR episodes in the renal allograft specimens during follow-up according to the glomerular or arteriolar C4d immunoreactivity of the intraoperative zero-hour biopsy specimens.

Full Text Available Auxyn type herbicides such as dicamba and 2,4-D are alternative herbicides that can be used to control glyphosate-resistant hairy fleabane. With the forthcoming possibility of releasing dicamba-resistant and 2,4-D-resistant crops, use of these growth regulator herbicides will likely be an alternative that can be applied to the control of glyphosate resistant hairy fleabane (Conyza bonariensis. The objective of this research was to model the efficacy, through dose-response curves, of glyphosate, 2,4-D, isolated dicamba and glyphosatedicamba combinations to control a brazilian hairy fleabane population resistant to glyphosate. The greenhouse dose-response studies were conducted as a completely randomized experimental design, and the rates used for dose response curve construction were 0, 120, 240, 480, 720 and 960 g a.i. ha-1 for 2,4-D, dicamba and the dicamba combination, with glyphosate at 540 g a.e. ha-1. The rates for glyphosate alone were 0, 180, 360, 540, 720 and 960 g a.e. ha-1. Herbicides were applied when the plants were in a vegetative stage with 10 to 12 leaves and height between 12 and 15 cm. Hairy fleabane had low sensitivity to glyphosate, with poor control even at the 960 g a.e. ha-1 rate. Dicamba and 2,4-D were effective in controlling the studied hairy fleabane. Hairy fleabane responds differently to 2,4-D and dicamba. The combination of glyphosate and dicamba was not antagonistic to hairy fleabane control, and glyphosate may cause an additive effect on the control, despite the population resistance.Os herbicidas mimetizadores de auxinas como dicamba e 2,4-D são alternativas para o controle de buva resistente ao glyphosate. Com a possível futura liberação comercial de culturas resistentes ao dicamba e 2,4-D, a aplicação destes herbicidas reguladores de crescimento será uma provável alternativa de controle de buva resistente ao glyphosate. O objetivo desta pesquisa foi modelar por meio de curvas de dose-resposta a efic

In the first decade of the twenty-first century, whole-body magnetic resonance scanners with high field strengths (and thus potentially better signal-to-noise ratios) were developed. At the same time, parallel imaging and 'echo-sharing' techniques were refined to allow for increasingly high spatial and temporal resolution in dynamic magnetic resonance angiography ('time-resolved' = TR-MRA). This technological progress facilitated tracking the passage of intravenously administered contrast agent boluses as well as the acquisition of volume data sets at high image refresh rates ('4D-MRA'). This opened doors for many new applications in non-invasive vascular imaging, including simultaneous anatomic and functional analysis of many vascular pathologies including arterio-venous malformations. Different methods were established to acquire 4D-MRA using various strategies to acquire k-space trajectories over time in order to optimize imaging according to clinical needs. These include 'keyhole'-based techniques (e.g. 4D-TRAK), TRICKS - both with and without projection -and HYPR-reconstruction, TREAT, and TWIST. Some of these techniques were first introduced in the 1980s and 1990s, were later enhanced and modified, and finally implemented in the products of major vendors. In the last decade, a large number of studies on the clinical applications of TR-MRA was published. This manuscript provides an overview of the development of TR-MRA methods and the 4D-MRA techniques as they are currently used in the diagnosis, treatment and follow-up of vascular diseases in various parts of the body. (orig.)

Cerebral aneurysms are of great clinical importance. It is believed that hemodynamics play a critical role in the development, growth, and rupture of brain arteries with such condition. The flow structure in the aneurysm sac is complex, unsteady, and three-dimensional. Therefore the time-resolved measurement of the three-dimensional three-component velocity field is crucial to predict the clinical outcome. In this study magnetic resonance velocimetry is used to assess the fluid dynamics inside a 3D printed model of a giant intracranial aneurysm. We reach sub-millimeter resolution while resolving sixteen instances within the cardiac cycle. The physiological flow waveform is imposed using an in-house built pump in a flow circuit where the cardiovascular impedance is matched. The flow evolution over time is reconstructed in detail. The complex flow structure is characterized by vortical and helical motions that reside in the aneurysm for most part of the cycle. The 4D pressured distribution is also reconstructed from the velocity field. The present case study was used in a previous CFD challenge, therefore these results may provide useful experimental comparison for simulations performed by other research groups.

Full Text Available The developing Drosophila brain is a well-studied model system for neurogenesis and stem cell biology. In the Drosophila central brain, around 200 neural stem cells called neuroblasts undergo repeated rounds of asymmetric cell division. These divisions typically generate a larger self-renewing neuroblast and a smaller ganglion mother cell that undergoes one terminal division to create two differentiating neurons. Although single mitotic divisions of neuroblasts can easily be imaged in real time, the lack of long term imaging procedures has limited the use of neuroblast live imaging for lineage analysis. Here we describe a method that allows live imaging of cultured Drosophila neuroblasts over multiple cell cycles for up to 24 hours. We describe a 4D image analysis protocol that can be used to extract cell cycle times and growth rates from the resulting movies in an automated manner. We use it to perform lineage analysis in type II neuroblasts where clonal analysis has indicated the presence of a transit-amplifying population that potentiates the number of neurons. Indeed, our experiments verify type II lineages and provide quantitative parameters for all cell types in those lineages. As defects in type II neuroblast lineages can result in brain tumor formation, our lineage analysis method will allow more detailed and quantitative analysis of tumorigenesis and asymmetric cell division in the Drosophila brain.

X-ray imaging applications in medical and material sciences are frequently limited by the number of tomographic projections collected. The inversion of the limited projection data is an ill-posed problem and needs regularization. Traditional spatial regularization is not well adapted to the dynamic nature of time-lapse tomography since it discards the redundancy of the temporal information. In this paper, we propose a novel iterative reconstruction algorithm with a nonlocal regularization term to account for time-evolving datasets. The aim of the proposed nonlocal penalty is to collect the maximum relevant information in the spatial and temporal domains. With the proposed sparsity seeking approach in the temporal space, the computational complexity of the classical nonlocal regularizer is substantially reduced (at least by one order of magnitude). The presented reconstruction method can be directly applied to various big data 4D (x, y, z+time) tomographic experiments in many fields. We apply the proposed technique to modelled data and to real dynamic X-ray microtomography (XMT) data of high resolution. Compared to the classical spatio-temporal nonlocal regularization approach, the proposed method delivers reconstructed images of improved resolution and higher contrast while remaining significantly less computationally demanding.

We analyze BPS black hole attractors in 4d gauged supergravity in the presence of higher derivative supersymmetric terms, including a Weyl-squared-type action, and determine the resulting corrections to the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy. The near-horizon geometry AdS$_2 \\times$S$^2$ (or other Riemann surface) preserves half of the supercharges in $N=2$ supergravity with Fayet-Iliopoulos gauging. We derive a relation between the entropy and the black hole charges that suggests via AdS/CFT how subleading corrections contribute to the supersymmetric index in the dual microscopic picture. Depending on the model, the attractors are part of full black hole solutions with different asymptotics, such as Minkowski, AdS$_4$, and hvLif$_4$. We give explicit examples for each of the asymptotic cases and comment on the implications. Among other results, we find that the Weyl-squared terms spoil the exact two-derivative relation to non-BPS asymptotically flat black holes in ungauged supergravity.

Structural biology by NMR spectroscopy relies on measuring interproton distances via NOE cross-signals in nuclear Overhauser effect spectroscopy (NOESY) spectra. In proteins, the subset of H(N)-H'(N) NOE contacts is most important for deriving initial structural models and for spectral assignment by "NOE walking". Here we present a fully optimized NMR experiment for measuring these pivotal contacts: diagonal-free 3D/4D HN,HN-TROSY-NOESY-TROSY. It combines all of the critical requirements for extracting the optimal H(N)-H'(N) distance information: the highest resolution by consistent transverse relaxation-optimized spectroscopy (TROSY) evolution, the largest spectral dispersion in two (15)N dimensions, and maximal coverage and purity through specific suppression of the intense diagonal signals that are the main source of overlap, artifacts, and bias in any NOESY spectrum. Most notably, diagonal suppression here comes without compromising the NOE cross-signal intensities. This optimized experiment appears to be ideal for a broad range of structural studies, particularly on large deuterated, partially unfolded, helical, and membrane proteins.

The 2,4-D herbicide is one of the main pesticides for controlling the bad grass in crops such as the water undergrowth. In Mexico the allowed bound of this pesticide is 0.05 mg/l in water of 2,4-D so it is required to have methods trusts and exacts, which can used in order to detected low concentration of it. In this work we show some for the conventional techniques and for establishing the 2,4-D concentrations. The UV-Vis spectrometer and liquids chromatography due that they are the most common used nowadays. Beside, we introduce a now developed technique, which is based on the neutronic activation analysis. Though use of the UV-Vis spectrometer technique it was possible target the concentrations interval between 1 and 200 mg/l. In the liquids chromatography interval was between 0.1 and 0.9, and by the neutronic activation analysis the interval was between 0.01 and 200 mg/l. (Author)

A new type of polymer composite hydrogel was prepared by introducing activated carbons from pomegranate husk into poly ((2-dimethylamino) ethyl methacrylate) network. The removal of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) from aqueous solution was studied with respect to pH of the media, initial 2,4-D concentration and activated carbon content into the polymeric network. Face centered composite design (FCCD) through response surface methodology (RSM) was used for designing the experiments as well as for studying the effects of the process parameters. A quadratic model and a two factor interaction design model were developed for the removal of 2,4-D and adsorption capacity, respectively. The optimum pH of the pesticide solution, activated carbon content into the polymeric network and initial concentration of 2,4-D were found as 3, 2.5 wt% and 100mg/L. 63.245% and 68.805 (mg/g) for the removal of 2,4-D and adsorption capacity were obtained by using Simplex optimization method. Furthermore, the surface characteristics of the adsorbent prepared under optimized conditions were examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR).

Satellite radiance observations are typically affected by biases that arise from uncertainties in the absolute calibration, the radiative transfer modeling, or other aspects. These biases have to be removed for the successful assimilation of the data in NWP systems. Two key problems have been identified in bias correction: Firstly, bias corrections can drift towards unrealistic values in regions where there is strong model error and relatively few "anchor" observations, ie, observations that have little systematic error and therefore allow the separation between model and observation bias. Examples where this has been particularly problematic are channels sensitive to ozone or stratospheric temperature. Secondly, there is undesired interaction between the quality control and bias correction for observations where bias-corrected observation departures are used for quality control and where these departures show skewed distributions (e.g., in case of cloud detection). In the study, we investigated potential solutions to these problems by providing further constraints using potential available information, such as constraints on the size of the bias correction and innovative bias correction metrics using uncertainty estimation from calibration and radiative transfer. This has been studied in the full ECMWF global 4D-Var system, using data from microwave sounders which are sensitive to stratospheric temperature. The resulting enhanced bias corrections was assessed in the context of other assimilated observations (in particular radiosondes and GPS radio occultation measurements), and through comparisons of MLS temperature retrieval data in stratosphere and mesosphere. The constrained adaptive bias correction of AMSU-A stratospheric sounding channels reduces the biases in stratosphere and improves the medium range forecasts in both stratosphere and troposphere.

Full Text Available An indigenous bacterial strain capable of utilizing 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid as the sole carbon and energy source was isolated from a soil used for grown wheat with a long-term history of herbicide use in Beijing, China. The strain BJ71 was identified as Cupriavidus campinensis based on its 16S rRNA sequence analysis and morphological, physiological, and biochemical characteristics. The degradation characteristics of strain BJ71 were evaluated. The optimal conditions for 2,4-D degradation were as follows: pH 7.0, 30 °C, 3% (v/v inoculum size, and an initial 2,4-D concentration of 350 mg L−1. Up to 99.57% of the 2,4-D was degraded under optimal conditions after 6 days of incubation. Strain BJ71 was also able to degrade quizalofop and fluroxypyr. This is the first report of a 2,4-D-degrader containing tfdA gene that can utilize these two herbicides. In a biodegradation experiment, 87.13% and 42.53% of 2,4-D (initial concentration, 350 mg kg−1 was degraded in non-sterile and sterilized soil inoculated with BJ71, respectively, after 14 days. The 2,4-D degradation was more rapid in a soil microcosm including BJ71 than in a soil microcosm without BJ71. These results indicate that strain BJ71 is a potential candidate for the bioremediation of soil contaminated with the herbicide 2,4-D.

Full Text Available Background. C3d is a product of both the classic and the alternative complement cascades; however, few studies have addressed the role of C3d in renal biopsies and its relationship with long-term graft survival rate is not very clear. Methods. 94 patients with biopsy-proven acute rejection episodes were included in the study. We investigated the associations between histological findings, clinical examinations, and outcome. Results. The overall prevalence for C4dPTC and C3dPTC was 42.6% and 29.8%. There was a significant association between C3dPTC and C4dPTC (P<0.001. C3dPTC and C4dPTC were related with histological types (P=0.024 and P<0.001, resp.. The long-term survival rate for C4dPTC positive transplants was lower than that of C4dPTC negative transplants, but it was not statistic significant in our study (P=0.150. The survival rate of C3dPTC positive group was much lower than the negative group (P=0.014. Patients with double positives for C4dPTC and C3dPTC exhibited the lowest survival rate significantly different from those of the C3dPTC only and C4dPTC only groups (P=0.01 and P=0.0037. Conclusions. This longitudinal cohort study has demonstrated that C3d deposition in the PTC was closely related to renal dysfunction and pathological changes.

Burnt calculations were realized for a fuel model based on the technology of the Gas-cooled Fast Reactor, GFR. The fuel design is based on bars. The code MCNPX-CINDER90 and the CSADA method for the burnt calculations were used. Models of homogeneous and heterogeneous fuel assembly were studied; for the burnt calculations of the fuel homogeneous model was considered the tracking of three series (Tiers) of evolution of the fission products. The Tier 1 tracks a reduced group of fission products, the Tier 2 tracks to the arrangement of fission products that are contained in the library of cross sections XSDIR of MCNPX; and the Tier 3 tracks 1325 fission products. The results were compared with those obtained with Tripoli-4-D in function of the calculation methods: 1) Explicit Euler, as method of first order; and 2) CSADA, as method of second order. According to the results was observed that the infinite multiplication factor varies in function of the fission products quantity that are tracked. The calculation time used by MCNPX-C90 with the series Tier 3 is more than double than the used by Tripoli-4-D, therefore this last code has advantage over MCNPX-C90 in the case of neutrons analysis of fast reactors. (Author)

The opening of the mouse vaginal cavity to the skin is a postnatal tissue remodeling process that occurs at approximately five weeks of age for the completion of female genital tract maturation at puberty. The tissue remodeling process is primarily composed of a hormonally triggered apoptotic process predominantly occurring in the epithelium of the distal section of the vaginal cavity. However, the detailed mechanism underlying the apoptotic induction remains to be elucidated. In the present study, it was observed that the majority of BALB/c mice lacking the class 4 semaphorin, semaphorin 4D (Sema4D), developed imperforate vagina and hydrometrocolpos resulting in a perpetually unopened vaginal cavity regardless of a normal estrogen level comparable with that in wild‑type (WT) mice. Administration of β‑estradiol to infant Sema4D‑deficient (Sema4D‑/‑) mice did not induce precocious vaginal opening, which was observed in WT mice subjected to the same β‑estradiol administration, excluding the possibility that the closed vaginal phenotype was due to insufficient estrogen secretion at the time of vaginal opening. In order to assess the role of Sema4D in the postnatal vaginal tissue remodeling process, the expression of Sema4D and its receptor, plexin‑B1, was examined as well as the level of apoptosis in the vaginal epithelia of five‑week‑old WT and Sema4D‑/‑ mice. Immunohistochemical analyses confirmed the localization of Sema4D and plexin‑B1 in the mouse vaginal epithelia. Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling assay and immunohistochemistry detecting activated caspase‑3 revealed significantly fewer apoptotic cells in situ in the vaginal mucosa of five‑week‑old Sema4D‑/‑ mice compared with WT mice. The addition of recombinant Sema4D to Sema4D‑/‑ vaginal epithelial cells in culture significantly enhanced apoptosis of the vaginal epithelial cells, demonstrating the apoptosis‑inducing activity of Sema4D. The

We reformulate the scattering amplitudes of 4D flat space gauge theory and gravity in the language of a 2D CFT on the celestial sphere. The resulting CFT structure exhibits an OPE constructed from 4D collinear singularities, as well as infinite-dimensional Kac-Moody and Virasoro algebras encoding the asymptotic symmetries of 4D flat space. We derive these results by recasting 4D dynamics in terms of a convenient foliation of flat space into 3D Euclidean AdS and Lorentzian dS geometries. Tree-level scattering amplitudes take the form of Witten diagrams for a continuum of (A)dS modes, which are in turn equivalent to CFT correlators via the (A)dS/CFT dictionary. The Ward identities for the 2D conserved currents are dual to 4D soft theorems, while the bulk-boundary propagators of massless (A)dS modes are superpositions of the leading and subleading Weinberg soft factors of gauge theory and gravity. In general, the massless (A)dS modes are 3D Chern-Simons gauge fields describing the soft, single helicity sectors o...

The half-century old Markov-Yukawa Transversality Principle ($MYTP$) which provides a theoretical rationale for the covariant instantaneous approximation ($CIA$) that underlies all Salpeter- like equations, is generalized to a Covariant null-plane Ansatz ($CNPA$). A common characteristic of both formulations is an exact 3D-4D interlinkage of BS amplitudes which provides for a two-tier description, the 3D form for spectroscopy, and the 4D form for transition amplitudes as 4D loop integrals. Some basic applications of $MYTP$ on the covariant null plane (quark mass function, vacuum condensates, and decay constants) are given on the lines of earlier applications of the same under Covariant Instantaneity to such processes. PACS: 03.65.-w ; 03.65.Co ; 11.10.Qr ; 11.10.St Keywords: Markov-Yukawa Transversality Principle ($MYTP$); Salpeter-like eqs; Cov Instantaneity Ansatz ($CIA$); Cov null-plane Ansatz ($CNPA$); 3D-4D interlinkage; Vertex function; 4D loops

Acrodysostosis is characterized by nasal hypoplasia, peripheral dysostosis, variable short stature, and intellectual impairment. Recently, mutations in PRKAR1A were reported in patients with acrodysostosis and hormone resistance. Subsequently, mutations in a phosphodiesterase gene (PDE4D) were identified in seven sporadic cases. We sequenced PDE4D in seven acrodysostosis patients from five families. Missense mutations were identified in all cases. Families showed de novo inheritance except one family with three affected children whose father was subsequently found to have subtle features of acrodysostosis. There were no recurrent mutations. Short stature and endocrine resistance are rare in this series; however, cognitive involvement and obesity were frequent. This last finding is relevant given PDE4D is insulin responsive and potentially involved in lipolysis. PDE4D encodes a cyclic AMP regulator and places PDE4D-related acrodysostosis within the same family of diseases as pseudohypoparathyroidism, pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism, PRKAR1A-related acrodysostosis and brachydactyly-mental retardation syndrome; all characterized by cognitive impairment and short distal extremities.

The distribution of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) was examined in maternal and fetal rabbits. Pregnant New Zealand rabbits (28-30 d gestational age) were anesthetized with ketamine/xylazine and the femoral vein and artery were catheterized for compound administration and sampling. Dams received iv [14C]2,4-D (12.5 microCi/kg) with unlabeled sodium 2,4-D (1, 10, or 40 mg/kg) in saline. Blood and tissue were collected up to 2 h after dosing. Fetal to maternal plasma AUC ratios were 0.09, 0.07, and 0.16 after the 1, 10, or 40 mg/kg dose, respectively. Extraplasma AUCs were greatest in maternal kidney and uterus and lowest in maternal and fetal brain. A greater than fourfold elevation in fetal AUC was found when the dose was increased from 10 to 40 mg/kg, suggesting saturation of maternal plasma binding of 2,4-D. Although the in vitro fetal brain tissue to incubation media ratio was unity (1.03 +/- 0.1, mean +/- SD), fetal brain AUCs were 10% or less of the fetal plasma AUCs, indicating the brain barrier system to 2,4-D is functioning in the late-gestation fetal rabbit. However, its development may not be complete due to the higher brain tissue to plasma ratios in the fetus compared to the dam.

Full Text Available The significance of ICTs in supporting socio-economic development in developing countries is inevitable. As academics of information systems in developing countries, we cannot ignore the need for teaching and building the capacity of our students to become knowledgeable and skilled in Information and Communication Technology for Development (ICT4D practice and discourse. Furthermore, it is vital to equip our students with the ability to apply their discipline knowledge in addressing some of the ICT discrepancies in current ICT4D practice in their own context. I introduced and teach the ICT4D module to the Honours level course at my university in South Africa. This paper explores the factors that have influenced and shaped the development of the ICT4D module curriculum in the South African context I teach in, using a qualitative ethnographic lens and theoretical study. This provides a practice lens to motivate for and support the introduction of an ICT4D module in tertiary curricula in developing countries.

The purpose of this work was to investigate the potential of lipiodol as a direct tumor surrogate alternative to the diaphragm surrogate on four-dimensional cone-beam computed tomography (4D-CBCT) image guidance for stereotactic radiotherapy of hepatocellular carcinomas. A total of 29 hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC) patients treated by stereotactic radiotherapy following transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) with homogeneous or partial defective lipiodol retention were included. In all, 4-7 pretreatment 4D-CBCT scans were selected for each patient. For each scan, either lipiodol or the diaphragm was used for 4D registration. Resulting lipiodol/diaphragm motion ranges and position errors relative to the reconstructed midventilation images were analyzed to obtain the motion variations, and group mean (ΔM), systematic (Σ), and random (σ) errors of the treatment setup. Of the lipiodolized tumors, 55 % qualified for direct localization on the 4D-CBCT. Significant correlations of lipiodol and diaphragm positions were found in the left-right (LR), craniocaudal (CC), and anteroposterior (AP) directions. ΔM and σ obtained with lipiodol and diaphragm were similar, agreed to within 0.5 mm in the LR and AP, and 0.3 mm in the CC directions, and Σ differed by 1.4 (LR), 1.1 (CC), and 0.6 (AP) mm. Variations of diaphragm motion range > 5 mm were not observed with lipiodol and in one patient with diaphragm. The margin required for the tumor prediction error using the diaphragm surrogate was 6.7 (LR), 11.7 (CC), and 4.1 (AP) mm. Image-guidance combining lipiodol with 4D-CBCT enabled accurate localization of HCC and thus margin reduction. A major limitation was the degraded lipiodol contrast on 4D-CBCT. (orig.) [German] Ziel dieser Studie war es, das Potential von Lipiodol als direktes Tumorsurrogat alternativ zum Zwerchfellsurrogat fuer die vierdimensionale Cone-beam-Computertomographie (4D-CBCT) in der stereotaktischen Strahlentherapie von hepatozellulaeren Karzinomen (HCC

Degradation of two chlorinated pesticides (2,4-D and DDT) using a 54-mL glass column packed with tezontle (a low-cost basaltic scoria) was tested. Bacteria were cultured in YPG (yeast, peptone, and glucose) liquid medium at 32 degrees C. The rich medium was pumped during 24 h through the column to inoculate it. Later, the wasted medium was discharged and the pesticide added. Optical densities, TOC, and pesticide concentration were determined. Pesticide removals for 2,4-D (with initial concentration between 100 and 500 mg/L) were about 99%. DDT removal (at initial concentration of up to 150 mg/L) was as high as 55-99%. TOC removals for 2,4-D was in the 36-87% interval, whereas for DDT they were as high as 36-78%.

Full Text Available 3D Animation serial for television needs have been showed in the national television program, especially fantasy theme and educational program for children. There are so many and sequential needs which tricked by instant and high-quality production so the work flow in creating 3D animation serial are facilitating the producers. The article will explain specifically how the software of Maxon Cinema 4D in process production in 3D animation serial. The article will also clarify and focus on how the work flow of Maxon Cinema 4D software in processing production and post-production stages. The writer does research including audio visual tutorial, end-result comparison and rendering time between some software, self-observation of work flow in creating 3D animation serial using Maxon Cinema 4D software and digital literature study (e-book.

Studying embryonic mouse development is important for our understanding of normal human embryogenesis and the underlying causes of congenital defects. Our research focuses on imaging early development in the mouse embryo to specifically understand cardiovascular development using optical coherence tomography (OCT). We have previously developed imaging approaches that combine static embryo culture, OCT imaging and advanced image processing to visualize the whole live mouse embryos and obtain 4D (3D+time) cardiodynamic datasets with cellular resolution. Here, we present the study of using 4D OCT for dynamic imaging of early embryonic heart in live mouse embryos to assess mutant cardiac phenotypes during development, including a cardiac looping defect. Our results indicate that the live 4D OCT imaging approach is an efficient phenotyping tool that can reveal structural and functional cardiac defects at very early stages. Further studies integrating live embryonic cardiodynamic phenotyping with molecular and genetic approaches in mouse mutants will help to elucidate the underlying signaling defects.

Purpose: The purpose of this work was to determine the dosimetric benefit to normal tissues by tracking liver tumor dose in four dimensional radiation therapy (4DRT) on ten phases of four dimensional computer tomagraphy(4DCT) images. Methods: Target tracking each phase with the beam aperture for ten liver cancer patients were converted to cumulative plan and compared to the 3D plan with a merged target volume based on 4DCT image in radiation treatment planning system (TPS). The change in normal tissue dose was evaluated in the plan by using the parameters V5, V10, V15, V20,V25, V30, V35 and V40 (volumes receiving 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 and 40Gy, respectively) in the dose-volume histogram for the liver; mean dose for the following structures: liver, left kidney and right kidney; and maximum dose for the following structures: bowel, duodenum, esophagus, stomach and heart. Results: There was significant difference between 4D PTV(average 115.71cm3 )and ITV(169.86 cm3). When the planning objective is 95% volume of PTV covered by the prescription dose, the mean dose for the liver, left kidney and right kidney have an average decrease 23.13%, 49.51%, and 54.38%, respectively. The maximum dose for bowel, duodenum,esophagus, stomach and heart have an average decrease 16.77%, 28.07%, 24.28%, 4.89%, and 4.45%, respectively. Compared to 3D RT, radiation volume for the liver V5, V10, V15, V20, V25, V30, V35 and V40 by using the 4D plans have a significant decrease(P≤0.05). Conclusion: The 4D plan method creates plans that permit better sparing of the normal structures than the commonly used ITV method, which delivers the same dosimetric effects to the target.

作为一种安全和非侵入式技术，加之具有成本效益优势及卓越的图像质量，现代超声设备在医疗机构的主要诊断中获得广泛使用，同时也在不断扩展至全新的应用领域。3D和4D影像技术最近取得的进展也推动着超声市场的增长。整体而言，超声技术在医疗保健行业的应用正向更多领域扩展，同时也在向非专业用户普及。对于超声技术自身而言，3D/4D应用正快速增长，其原因有很多，如硬件和软件平台的发展使得超声系统供应商可以提供更多的3D/4D功能；3D/4D技术整体上愈发成熟稳定，为用户提供了更好的工作流程；此外，设备的成本也越来越有吸引力。%With the advantages of being safe, non-invasive and cost-effectiveness and with superior image quality, modern ultrasound equipment is being extensively used in health institutions for primary diagnosis and continuously expands into new application areas. The recent technological advancements in 3D and four-dimensional (4D) imaging are further boosting market growth. The use of ultrasound in healthcare is in general growing into more applications and also to less specialized users. Within ultrasound the 3D/4D usage is rapidly growing. The reasons for that are many The fast development of hardware and software platforms enables the Ultrasound system suppliers to offer more 3D/4D functionality, the overal 3D/4D technology is more mature and stable with a much bet er workflow for users, and the cost for such equipment is get ing more at ractive.

多维映射通过增加星座的维度数而使得符号间的平均欧式距离大大增加，这可以大程度地提高数字通信系统的可靠性。然而已有的基于Gray映射的4D-QPSK星座在设计上，并没有充分利用四维星座的空间优势，对于相邻星座点的汉明距离并未达到最大。提出一种基于Anti-Gray映射的4D-QPSK星座设计方案，该方案中的比特映射方式按照相邻星座点汉明距离最大，汉明距离为1的星座点欧式距离最大的设计原则，使星座点间具有最大的分集度。仿真结果表明，该方案可以提高抵抗衰落信道的能力。%By adding the number of constellation dimension,the average Euclidean distance of between the symbols could be greatly increased, and the reliability of digital communication system also be significantly improved. However, the existing design of 4D-QPSK constellation based on Gray mapping, make no use of the four-dimensional space, and thus could not reach the maximum Hamming distance to the adjacent con-stellation points. A design scheme of 4D-QPSK constellation based on Anti-Gray mapping is proposed, and in this scheme the bit mapping method is designed in accordance with the maximum Hamming distance to ad-jacent constellation points. The constellation points with Hamming distance of 1 enjoys the maximal Euclide-an distance, thus to reach the maximum diversity of between the constellation points. Simulation results show that the proposed scheme could enhance the capability of communication system to resist fading channel.

Recently, a generalization of Laughlin's wave function expressed in Haldane's spherical geometry is con-structed in 4D quantum Hall effect. In fact, it is a membrane wave function in CP3 space. In this article, we use non-Abelian Berry phase to anaJyze the statistics of this membrane wave function. Our results show that the membrane wave function obeys fractional statistics. It is the rare example to realize fractional statistics in higher-dimensiona space than 2D. And, it will help to make clear the unresolved problems in 4D quantum Hall effect.

Recently, a generalization of Laughlin's wave function expressed in Haldane's spherical geometry is con-structed in 4D quantum Hall effect. In fact, it is a membrane wave function in CP3 space. In this article, we usenon-Abelian Berry phase to analyze the statistics of this membrane wave function. Our results show that the membranewave function obeys fractional statistics. It is the rare example to realize fractional statistics in higher-dimensional spacethan 2D. And, it will help to make clear the unresolved problems in 4D quantum Hall effect.

We gauge the abelian hierarchy of tensor fields in 4D by a Lie algebra. The resulting non-abelian tensor hierarchy can be interpreted via an equivariant chain complex. We lift this structure to N=1 superspace by constructing superfield analogs for the tensor fields, along with covariant superfield strengths. Next we construct Chern-Simons actions, for both the bosonic and N=1 cases, and note that the condition of gauge invariance can be presented cohomologically. Finally, we provide an explicit realization of these structures by dimensional reduction, for example by reducing the three-form of eleven-dimensional supergravity into a superspace with manifest 4D, N=1 supersymmetry.

Fast X-ray computed tomography (CT) system with sub-second order measurement for single CT acquisition has been developed. The system, consisting of a high-speed sample rotation stage and a high-speed X-ray camera, is constructed at synchrotron radiation beamline in order to utilize fully intense X-rays. A time-resolving CT movie (i.e. 4D CT) can be available by operating the fast CT system continuously. Real-time observation of water absorbing process of super-absorbent polymer (SAP) has been successfully performed with the 4D CT operation.

Valence-band photoemission and IIII-edge x-ray absorption studies were performed on RRh3B2 (R = La, Ce, and Pr) compounds in order to explore the origin of the anomalously high magnetic ordering temperature of CeRh3B2. From the low density of Rh 4d states at EF and the approximate trivalency of Ce, itinerant magnetism in the Rh 4d band can be excluded. Instead, the magnetism is proposed to originate from Ce moments, enhanced by 4f hybridization with Rh d orbitals.

We express the d=4, N=2 black hole effective potential for cubic holomorphic F functions and generic dyonic charges in terms of d=5 real special geometry data. The 4d critical points are computed from the 5d ones, and their relation is elucidated. For symmetric spaces, we identify the BPS and non-BPS classes of attractors and the respective entropies. These are related by simple formulae, interpolating between four and five dimensions, depending on the volume modulus and on the 4d magnetic (or electric) charges, and holding true also for generic field configurations and for non-symmetric cubic geometries.

The Ensemble Kaiman Filter (EnKF) is considered a fast and efficient algorithm in the data assimilation process to estimate reservoir properties from measured data. 4D seismics is an important source of information for the reservoir monitoring and the improvement of the geological model. The use of

consideration, particularly for patients exhibiting motion amplitudes of above 1cm and a sufficiently large number of detected true coincidences during their post-irradiation PET scan. Despite the application of an optimised PET image reconstruction scheme, as retrieved from a dedicated phantom imaging study in the scope of this work, the small number of counts and the resulting high level of image noise were identified as a major limiting factor for the detection of motion-induced dose inhomogeneities within the patient. Moreover, the biological washout modelling of the irradiation-induced isotopes proved to be not sufficiently accurate and thereby impede a quantitative analysis of measured and simulated data under consideration of target motion. In future, improvements are particularly foreseen through dedicated noise-robust time-resolved (4D) image reconstruction algorithms, an improved tracking of the organ motion, e.g., by ultrasound (US) imaging, as implemented for the first time in 4D PET imaging in the scope of this work, as well as by patient-specific washout models.

Purpose: To develop and to test a method to generate a new 4D CT images of the treatment day from the old 4D CT and the portal images of the day when the motion extent exceeded from that represented by plan CTs. Methods: A motion vector of a moving tumor in a patient may be extended to reconstruct the tumor position when the motion extent exceeded from that represented by plan CTs. To test this, 1. a phantom that consists of a polystyrene cylinder (tumor) embedded in cork (lung) was placed on a moving platform with 4 sec/cycle and amplitudes of 1 cm and 2 cm, and was 4D-scanned. 2. A 6MV photon beam was irradiated on the moving phantoms and cineEPID images were obtained. 3. A motion vector of the tumor was acquired from 4D CT images of the phantom with 1 cm amplitude. 4. From cine EPID images of the phantom with the 2 cm amplitude, various motion extents (0.3 cm, 0.5 cm, etc) were acquired and programmed into the motion vector, producing CT images at each position. 5. The reconstructed CT images were then compared with pre-acquired “reference” 4D CT images at each position (i.e. phase). Results: The CT image was reconstructed and compared with the reference image, showing a slight mismatch in the transition direction limited by voxel size (slice thickness) in CT image. Due to the rigid nature of the phantom studied, the modeling the displacement of the center of object was sufficient. When deformable tumors are to be modeled, more complex scheme is necessary, which utilize cine EPID and 4D CT images. Conclusion: The new idea of CT image reconstruction was demonstrated. Deformable tumor movements need to be considered in the future.

Intraoperative cardiac monitoring, accurate preoperative diagnosis, and surgical planning are important components of minimally-invasive cardiac therapy. Retrospective, electrocardiographically (ECG) gated, multidetector computed tomographical (MDCT), four-dimensional (3D + time), real-time, cardiac image visualization is an important tool for the surgeon in such procedure, particularly if the dynamic volumetric image can be registered to, and fused with the actual patient anatomy. The addition of stereoscopic imaging provides a more intuitive environment by adding binocular vision and depth cues to structures within the beating heart. In this paper, we describe the design and implementation of a comprehensive stereoscopic 4D cardiac image visualization and manipulation platform, based on the opacity density radiation model, which exploits the power of modern graphics processing units (GPUs) in the rendering pipeline. In addition, we present a new algorithm to synchronize the phases of the dynamic heart to clinical ECG signals, and to calculate and compensate for latencies in the visualization pipeline. A dynamic multiresolution display is implemented to enable the interactive selection and emphasis of volume of interest (VOI) within the entire contextual cardiac volume and to enhance performance, and a novel color and opacity adjustment algorithm is designed to increase the uniformity of the rendered multiresolution image of heart. Our system provides a visualization environment superior to noninteractive software-based implementations, but with a rendering speed that is comparable to traditional, but inferior quality, volume rendering approaches based on texture mapping. This retrospective ECG-gated dynamic cardiac display system can provide real-time feedback regarding the suspected pathology, function, and structural defects, as well as anatomical information such as chamber volume and morphology.

Full Text Available This paper discusses the global analyses of stratospheric ozone (O3 and nitrogen dioxide (NO2 obtained by the Belgian Assimilation System for Chemical Observations from Envisat (BASCOE. Based on a chemistry transport model (CTM and the 4-dimensional variational (4D-Var method, BASCOE has assimilated chemical observations of O3, NO2, HNO3, N2O, CH4 and H2O, made between July 2002 and March 2004 by the Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding (MIPAS onboard the European Space Agency (ESA Environment Satellite (ENVISAT. This corresponds to the entire period during which MIPAS was operating at its nominal resolution.

Our analyses are evaluated against assimilated MIPAS data and independent HALOE (HALogen Occultation Experiment and POAM-III (Polar Ozone and Aerosol Measurement satellite data. A good agreement is generally found between the analyses and these datasets, in both cases within the estimated error bars of the observations. The benefit of data assimilation is also evaluated using a BASCOE free model run. For O3, the gain from the assimilation is significant during ozone hole conditions, and in the lower stratosphere. Elsewhere, the free model run is within the MIPAS uncertainties and the assimilation does not provide significant improvement. For NO2, the gain from the assimilation is realized through most of the stratosphere. Using the BASCOE analyses, we estimate the differences between MIPAS data and independent data from HALOE and POAM-III, and find results close to those obtained by classical validation methods involving only direct measurement-to-measurement comparisons. Our results extend and reinforce previous MIPAS data validation efforts by taking account of a much larger variety of atmospheric states and measurement conditions.

Computed tomography (CT) uses X-ray radiation to construct images. Applying X-ray radiation to the human body may damage the tissue and increases the risk of inducing cancer. Therefore, the radiation dose should be kept as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA). This is especially true for 4D CT perfu

To date, cardiovascular surgery enables the treatment of a wide range of aortic pathologies. One of the current challenges in this field is given by the detection of high-risk patients for adverse aortic events, who should be treated electively. Reliable diagnostic parameters, which indicate the urge of treatment, have to be determined. Functional imaging by means of 4D phase contrast-magnetic resonance imaging (PC-MRI) enables the time-resolved measurement of blood flow velocity in 3D. Applied to aortic phantoms, three dimensional blood flow properties and their relation to adverse dynamics can be investigated in vitro. Emerging "in silico" methods of numerical simulation can supplement these measurements in computing additional information on crucial parameters. We propose a framework that complements 4D PC-MRI imaging by means of numerical simulation based on the Finite Element Method (FEM). The framework is developed on the basis of a prototypic aortic phantom and validated by 4D PC-MRI measurements of the phantom. Based on physical principles of biomechanics, the derived simulation depicts aortic blood flow properties and characteristics. The framework might help identifying factors that induce aortic pathologies such as aortic dilatation or aortic dissection. Alarming thresholds of parameters such as wall shear stress distribution can be evaluated. The combined techniques of 4D PC-MRI and numerical simulation can be used as complementary tools for risk-stratification of aortic pathology.

Full Text Available Various α-fonctionalized iminoethers 2 were easily prepared from ethyl 5-amino-3-substituted-1-phenyl-1H-pyrazole-4-carboxylate 1. The reaction of iminoethers 2 with ammonia afforded 3-substitued-1-phenyl-1H-pyrazolo[3,4-d] pyrimidin-4(5H-ones 3 which were also synthesized by the addition of formamide to ethyl 5-amino-3-substituted-1-phenyl-1H-pyrazole-4-carboxylate 1. The 5-amino-3-substitued-1-phenyl-1H-pyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidin-4(5H-ones 4 were obtained from hydrazonolysis of iminoethers 2. Otherwise, the condensation of these intermediates 2 with a series of some primary amines and hydroxylamine led respectively, to the corresponding 3,5-disubstitued-1-phenyl-1H-pyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidin-4(5H-ones 5 and the 3-substitued-5-hydroxy-1-phenyl-1H-pyrazolo[3,4-d] pyrimidin-4-(5H-ones 6. The synthesized compounds 1-6 were completely characterized by 1H NMR, 13C NMR, IR and HRMS. Some synthesized compounds were evaluated for their cytotoxic effect using the Human cervical adenocarcinoma Hela cell line.

Particle therapy positron emission tomography (PT-PET) is an in vivo and non-invasive imaging technique to monitor treatment delivery in particle therapy. The inevitable patient respiratory motion during irradiation causes artefacts and inaccurate activity distribution in PET images. Four-dimensional (4D) maximum likelihood expectation maximisation (4D MLEM) allows for a compensation of these effects, but has up to now been restricted to regular motion for PT-PET investigations. However, intra-fractional motion during treatment might differ from that during acquisition of the 4D-planning CT (e.g. amplitude variation, baseline drift) and therefore might induce inaccurate 4D PET reconstruction results. This study investigates the impact of different irregular analytical one-dimensional (1D) motion patterns on PT-PET imaging by means of experiments with a radioactive source and irradiated moving phantoms. Three sorting methods, namely phase sorting, equal amplitude sorting and event-based amplitude sorting, were applied to manage the PET list-mode data. The influence of these sorting methods on the motion compensating algorithm has been analysed. The event-based amplitude sorting showed a superior performance and it is applicable for irregular motions with ⩽4 mm amplitude elongation and drift. For motion with 10 mm baseline drift, the normalised root mean square error was as high as 10.5% and a 10 mm range deviation was observed.

Purpose: The second (2D, index finger) to fourth (4D, ring finger) digit ratio is a biomarker for prenatal testosterone and estrogen exposure. It has been hypothesized that the developmental origins of health and behavior are modulated by the presence or absence of prenatal sex hormones. Several stu

This thesis describes the clinical significance of thebiomarker C4d, a split product of the complement system, in several manifestations of systemic autoimmunediseases such as SLE and antiphospholipid syndrome. The findings in this thesis suggest that this biomarker might be of use in unraveling dis

Primary hyperparathyroidism (pHPT) is almost exclusively the result of a solitary parathyroid adenoma. In most cases, the affected gland can be surgically removed, but precise preoperative imaging is essential for adenoma localization prior to surgical intervention. In this study, we evaluated the diagnostic value of four-dimensional computed tomography (4D-CT) as a preoperative imaging tool in relation to the localization of pathologic parathyroid glands in patients with pHPT and negative sestamibi scans. This study included 43 consecutive patients with pHPT referred for parathyroidectomy at the Department of Head and Neck Surgery of Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet in 2011 and 2012. All patients had a 4D-CT performed prior to parathyroidectomy. CT localization of the suspected adenoma was correlated to the actual surgical findings and subsequent histological diagnosis was also available as references for the accuracy of this imaging tool. Hyperfunctioning parathyroid glands were found in 40 patients. 4D-CT identified 32 solitary hyperfunctioning parathyroid glands located on the correct side of the neck (PPV 76 %) and 21 located within the correct quadrant (PPV 49 %). Unilateral resection was performed in 72 % of patients due to the localization findings of preoperative imaging. 4D-CT can, therefore, be considered an effective method for the preoperative localization of parathyroid adenomas and is an important tool in surgical intervention for patients referred to parathyroidectomy.

A number of molecules have been shown recently to be involved in the pathogenesis and progression of immunoglobulin (Ig)A nephropathy (IgAN). Among these, we have selected C4d (complement lectin pathway involvement), CD3 (T cell marker, traducing interstitial inflammation), transglutaminase 2 (TGase

We study weak coupling perturbative series in 4d N=2 and 5d N=1 supersymmetric gauge theories with Lagrangians. We prove that the perturbative series of these theories in zero instanton sector are Borel summable for various observables. We also prove Borel summability in arbitrary number of instanton sector when we know explicit expression of Nekrasov instanton partition function.

The K-edge photoabsorption spectra of the 4d metals calculated by the linear augmented-plane-wave method yield good agreement with the measured data. The prominent systematic features of the spectra, most easily discussed in terms of the l=1 projected density of final states, are simply related t...

Purpose: 4D CBCT is a beneficial tool for the treatment of movable tumors, because it can help us to understand where the tumors are actually located and have a precise treatment plan. However, there is a limitation that general CBCT images cannot perfectly help the sophisticated registration. On the other hand, SymmetryTM 4D IGRT system of Elekta can offer the 4D CBCT registration option. In this study, we intend to evaluate the usefulness of SymmetryTM. Method and Materials: Planning CT images of the CIRS moving lung phantom were acquired from 4D MDCT. And they are sorted as 10 phases from 0% phase to 90% phase. The thickness of CT images was 1 mm. Acquired MDCT images were transferred to the contouring software and a virtual target was generated. An one arc VMAT plan was performed by using the treatment planning system on the virtual target. Finally, the movement of the phantom was verified through XVI SymmetryTM system. Results: The physical movement of CIRS moving lung phantom was +/- 10.0 mm in superior...

We study compactification of 6 dimensional (1,0) theories on T 2. We use geometric engineering of these theories via F-theory and employ mirror symmetry technology to solve for the effective 4d N=2 geometry for a large number of the (1 ,0) theories including those associated with conformal matter. Using this we show that for a given 6d theory we can obtain many inequivalent 4d N=2 SCFTs. Some of these respect the global symmetries of the 6d theory while others exhibit SL(2 , ℤ) duality symmetry inherited from global diffeomorphisms of the T 2. This construction also explains the 6d origin of moduli space of 4d affine ADE quiver theories as flat ADE connections on T 2. Among the resulting 4d N=2 CFTs we find theories whose vacuum geometry is captured by an LG theory (as opposed to a curve or a local CY geometry). We obtain arbitrary genus curves of class S with punctures from toroidal compactification of (1 , 0) SCFTs where the curve of the class S theory emerges through mirror symmetry. We also show that toroidal compactification of the little string version of these theories can lead to class S theories with no punctures on arbitrary genus Riemann surface.

We study compactification of 6 dimensional (1,0) theories on T^2. We use geometric engineering of these theories via F-theory and employ mirror symmetry technology to solve for the effective 4d N=2 geometry for a large number of the (1,0) theories including those associated with conformal matter. Using this we show that for a given 6d theory we can obtain many inequivalent 4d N=2 SCFTs. Some of these respect the global symmetries of the 6d theory while others exhibit SL(2,Z) duality symmetry inherited from global diffeomorphisms of the T^2. This construction also explains the 6d origin of moduli space of 4d affine ADE quiver theories as flat ADE connections on T^2. Among the resulting 4d N=2 CFTs we find theories whose vacuum geometry is captured by an LG theory (as opposed to a curve or a local CY geometry). We obtain arbitrary genus curves of class S with punctures from toroidal compactification of (1,0) SCFT's where the curve of the class S theory emerges through mirror symmetry. We also show that toroidal...

Purpose: To develop and validate a volume-modulated arc therapy (VMAT) quality assurance (QA) tool that takes as input a time-resolved, low-density ({approx}10 mm) cylindrical surface dose map from a commercial helical diode array, and outputs a high density, volumetric, time-resolved dose matrix on an arbitrary patient dataset. This first validation study is limited to a homogeneous 'patient.'Methods: A VMAT treatment is delivered to a diode array phantom (ARCCHECK, Sun Nuclear Corp., Melbourne, FL). 3DVH software (Sun Nuclear) derives the high-density volumetric dose using measurement-guided dose reconstruction (MGDR). MGDR cylindrical phantom results are then used to perturb the three-dimensional (3D) treatment planning dose on the patient dataset, producing a semiempirical volumetric dose grid. Four-dimensional (4D) dose reconstruction on the patient is also possible by morphing individual sub-beam doses instead of the composite. For conventional (3D) dose comparison two methods were developed, using the four plans (Multi-Target, C-shape, Mock Prostate, and Head and Neck), including their structures and objectives, from the AAPM TG-119 report. First, 3DVH and treatment planning system (TPS) cumulative point doses were compared to ion chamber in a cube water-equivalent phantom ('patient'). The shape of the phantom is different from the ARCCHECK and furthermore the targets were placed asymmetrically. Second, coronal and sagittal absolute film dose distributions in the cube were compared with 3DVH and TPS. For time-resolved (4D) comparisons, three tests were performed. First, volumetric dose differences were calculated between the 3D MGDR and cumulative time-resolved patient (4D MGDR) dose at the end of delivery, where they ideally should be identical. Second, time-resolved (10 Hz sampling rate) ion chamber doses were compared to cumulative point dose vs time curves from 4D MGDR. Finally, accelerator output was varied to assess the linearity of

In Pd/Fe system, zero-valent iron (ZVI) passivation layer is easily formed on the particle surface during the catalytic reductive dechlorination of chlorinated organics, hindering further dechlorination of target contaminants. In this paper, the passivation layer on the Pd/Fe particle surfaces could be eliminated by the chelation of disodium edetate (EDTA) with Fe2+, Fe3+, making the reductive dechlorination continue. The experiment investigated the effects of EDTA addition manner and dosage, pH, Pd loading and temperature on dechlorination of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) by Pd/Fe. The conclusions can be summarized as follows: (1) Phenoxyacetic acid (PA) generation ratio reached 90. 7% within 20 min with EDTA concentration of 25.0 mmol x L(-1) and flow rate of 20 mL x h(-1), while it was only 74.5% after 210 min in the system without EDTA. (2) The EDTA could chelate the Fe2+ and Fe3+ generated from the process of 2,4-D dechlorination by Pd/Fe, preventing or slowing down the formation of passivation layer, and accelerating the reduction efficiency. (3) The appropriate experimental parameters for 2,4-D removal were as follows: EDTA flow rate of 20 mL x h(-1), CEDTA of 25.0 mmol x L(-1), Pd loading of 0.050%, 200 r x min(-1), pH 4.2 and 30.0 degrees C. The removal percentage of 20.0 mg x L(-1) 2,4-D reached nearly up to 100% within 210 min under these conditions. (4) The intermediates of 2, 4-D catalytic dechlorination included 2-chlorophenoxvacetic acid (2-CPA) and trace 4-chloronhenoxyacetic acid (4-CPA), and the end product was PA.

4D or dynamic imaging of the thorax has many potential applications [1, 2]. CT and MRI offer sufficient speed to acquire motion information via 4D imaging. However they have different constraints and requirements. For both modalities both prospective and retrospective respiratory gating and tracking techniques have been developed [3, 4]. For pediatric imaging, x-ray radiation becomes a primary concern and MRI remains as the de facto choice. The pediatric subjects we deal with often suffer from extreme malformations of their chest wall, diaphragm, and/or spine, as such patient cooperation needed by some of the gating and tracking techniques are difficult to realize without causing patient discomfort. Moreover, we are interested in the mechanical function of their thorax in its natural form in tidal breathing. Therefore free-breathing MRI acquisition is the ideal modality of imaging for these patients. In our set up, for each coronal (or sagittal) slice position, slice images are acquired at a rate of about 200-300 ms/slice over several natural breathing cycles. This produces typically several thousands of slices which contain both the anatomic and dynamic information. However, it is not trivial to form a consistent and well defined 4D volume from these data. In this paper, we present a novel graph-based combinatorial optimization solution for constructing the best possible 4D scene from such data entirely in the digital domain. Our proposed method is purely image-based and does not need breath holding or any external surrogates or instruments to record respiratory motion or tidal volume. Both adult and children patients' data are used to illustrate the performance of the proposed method. Experimental results show that the reconstructed 4D scenes are smooth and consistent spatially and temporally, agreeing with known shape and motion of the lungs.

Full Text Available INTRODUCTION: C4d is a marker of antibody-mediated rejection (ABMR in kidney allografts, although cellular rejection also have C4d deposits. OBJECTIVE: To correlate C4d expression with clinico-pathological parameters and graft outcomes at three years. METHODS: One hundred forty six renal transplantation recipients with graft biopsies by indication were included. C4d staining was performed by paraffin-immunohistochemistry. Graft function and survival were measured, and predictive variables of the outcome were determined by multivariate Cox regression. RESULTS: C4d staining was detected in 48 (31% biopsies, of which 23 (14.7% had diffuse and 25 (16% focal distribution. Pre-transplantation panel reactive antibodies (%PRA class I and II were significantly higher in C4d positive patients as compared to those C4d negative. Both glomerulitis and pericapillaritis were associated to C4d (p = 0.002 and p < 0.001, respectively. The presence of C4d in biopsies diagnosed as no rejection (NR, acute cellular rejection (ACR or interstitial fibrosis/ tubular atrophy (IF/TA did not impact graft function or survival. Compared to NR, ACR and IF/TA C4d-, patients with ABMR C4d+ had the worst graft survival over 3 years (p = 0.034, but there was no difference between ABMR versus NR, ACR and IF/TA that were C4d positive (p = 0.10. In Cox regression, graft function at biopsy and high %PRA levels were predictors of graft loss. CONCLUSIONS: This study confirmed that C4d staining in kidney graft biopsies is a clinically useful marker of ABMR, with well defined clinical and pathological correlations. The impact of C4d deposition in other histologic diagnoses deserves further investigation.

Using the method of Green's functions within a Bethe-Salpeter framework characterized by a pairwise qq interaction with a Lorentz-covariant 3D support to its kernel, the 4D BS wave function for a system of 3 identical relativistic spinless quarks is reconstructed from the corresponding 3D form which satisfies a fully connected 3D BSE. This result is a 3-body generalization of a similar 2-body result found earlier under identical conditions of a 3D support to the corresponding qq-bar BS kernel under Covariant Instaneity (CIA for short). (The generalization from spinless to fermion quarks is straightforward). To set the CIA with 3D BS kernel support ansatz in the context of contemporary approaches to the qqq baryon problem, a model scalar 4D qqq BSE with pairwise contact interactions to simulate the NJL-Faddeev equations is worked out fully, and a comparison of both vertex functions shows that the CIA vertex reduces exactly to the NJL form in the limit of zero spatial range. This consistency check on the CIA ve...

We evaluated the performance of a new 4D image reconstruction method for improved 4D gated myocardial perfusion (MP) SPECT using a task-based human observer study. We used a realistic 4D NURBS-based Cardiac-Torso (NCAT) phantom that models cardiac beating motion. Half of the population was normal; the other half had a regional hypokinetic wall motion abnormality. Noise-free and noisy projection data with 16 gates/cardiac cycle were generated using an analytical projector that included the effects of attenuation, collimator-detector response, and scatter (ADS), and were reconstructed using the 3D FBP without and 3D OS-EM with ADS corrections followed by different cut-off frequencies of a 4D linear post-filter. A 4D iterative maximum a posteriori rescaled-block (MAP-RBI)-EM image reconstruction method with ADS corrections was also used to reconstruct the projection data using various values of the weighting factor for its prior. The trade-offs between bias and noise were represented by the normalized mean squared error (NMSE) and averaged normalized standard deviation (NSDav), respectively. They were used to select reasonable ranges of the reconstructed images for use in a human observer study. The observers were trained with the simulated cine images and were instructed to rate their confidence on the absence or presence of a motion defect on a continuous scale. We then applied receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis and used the area under the ROC curve (AUC) index. The results showed that significant differences in detection performance among the different NMSE-NSDav combinations were found and the optimal trade-off from optimized reconstruction parameters corresponded to a maximum AUC value. The 4D MAP-RBI-EM with ADS correction, which had the best trade-off among the tested reconstruction methods, also had the highest AUC value, resulting in significantly better human observer detection performance when detecting regional myocardial wall motion

The surface of the Greenland ice sheet (GrIS) harbours a diverse community of heterotrophic microorganisms. Organic compounds of anthropogenic origin, including pesticides, are deposited on the GrIS; however, the fate of these compounds in the ice is currently unknown. In this study we determine the potential of the microbial community from the surface of the GrIS to mineralise the pesticide 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D). It is one of the most easily degraded compounds among the phenoxyacetic acid pesticides, and the ability to mineralise 2,4-D has been found to be widespread in microbial communities around the globe. Functional genes involved in the degradation pathway have also been characterised. Thus, 2,4-D represents a very suitable model compound to use in order to gain an insight into pollutant degradation dynamics in the rapidly changing Arctic region. We collected surface ice cores on the GrIS and incubated them for up to 529 days in microcosms simulating in situ conditions. We measured mineralisation of side-chain- and ring-labelled 14C-2,4-D in the samples and performed quantitative PCR targeting the tfdA gene, encoding an enzyme catalysing the first step in the degradation pathway of 2,4-D, in the DNA extracted from the ice after the experiments. We show that the microbial community on the surface of the GrIS is of low diversity, but contains microbes capable of degrading 2,4-D. The low diversity of the community and the similarity of the detected clones to those from other icy environment clones suggest that the bacterial community on the GrIS is selected from a pool of propagules deposited on the surface of the ice sheet, based on the level of adaptation to the conditions in the surface ice. The 2,4-D degraders are likely present in very low numbers, and they can mineralise 2,4-D at a rate of up to 1 nmol per m2 per day, equivalent to ~26 ng C m-2 d-1. We contend that the surface of the GrIS should not be considered to be a mere reservoir of

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the dosimetric uncertainty in 4D dose calculation using three temporal probability distributions: uniform distribution, sinusoidal distribution, and patient-specific distribution derived from the patient respiratory trace. Temporal probability, defined as the fraction of time a patient spends in each respiratory amplitude, was evaluated in nine lung cancer patients. Four-dimensional computed tomography (4D CT), along with deformable image registration, was used to compute 4D dose incorporating the patient's respiratory motion. First, the dose of each of 10 phase CTs was computed using the same planning parameters as those used in 3D treatment planning based on the breath-hold CT. Next, deformable image registration was used to deform the dose of each phase CT to the breath-hold CT using the deformation map between the phase CT and the breath-hold CT. Finally, the 4D dose was computed by summing the deformed phase doses using their corresponding temporal probabilities. In this study, 4D dose calculated from the patient-specific temporal probability distribution was used as the ground truth. The dosimetric evaluation matrix included: 1) 3D gamma analysis, 2) mean tumor dose (MTD), 3) mean lung dose (MLD), and 4) lung V20. For seven out of nine patients, both uniform and sinusoidal temporal probability dose distributions were found to have an average gamma passing rate > 95% for both the lung and PTV regions. Compared with 4D dose calculated using the patient respiratory trace, doses using uniform and sinusoidal distribution showed a percentage difference on average of -0.1% ± 0.6% and -0.2% ± 0.4% in MTD, -0.2% ± 1.9% and -0.2% ± 1.3% in MLD, 0.09% ± 2.8% and -0.07% ± 1.8% in lung V20, -0.1% ± 2.0% and 0.08% ± 1.34% in lung V10, 0.47% ± 1.8% and 0.19% ± 1.3% in lung V5, respectively. We concluded that four-dimensional dose computed using either a uniform or sinusoidal temporal probability distribution can

The last decade has witnessed extensive applications of 3D environmental monitoring with the LiDAR technology, also referred to as laser scanning. Although several automatic methods were developed to extract environmental parameters from LiDAR point clouds, only little research has focused on highly multitemporal near real-time LiDAR (4D-LiDAR) for environmental monitoring. Large potential of applying 4D-LiDAR is given for landscape objects with high and varying rates of change (e.g. plant growth) and also for phenomena with sudden unpredictable changes (e.g. geomorphological processes). In this presentation we will report on the most recent findings of the research projects 4DEMON (http://uni-heidelberg.de/4demon) and NoeSLIDE (https://geomorph.univie.ac.at/forschung/projekte/aktuell/noeslide/). The method development in both projects is based on two real-world use cases: i) Surface parameter derivation of agricultural crops (e.g. crop height) and ii) change detection of landslides. Both projects exploit the "full history" contained in the LiDAR point cloud time series. One crucial initial step of 4D-LiDAR analysis is the co-registration over time, 3D-georeferencing and time-dependent quality assessment of the LiDAR point cloud time series. Due to the high amount of datasets (e.g. one full LiDAR scan per day), the procedure needs to be performed fully automatically. Furthermore, the online near real-time 4D monitoring system requires to set triggers that can detect removal or moving of tie reflectors (used for co-registration) or the scanner itself. This guarantees long-term data acquisition with high quality. We will present results from a georeferencing experiment for 4D-LiDAR monitoring, which performs benchmarking of co-registration, 3D-georeferencing and also fully automatic detection of events (e.g. removal/moving of reflectors or scanner). Secondly, we will show our empirical findings of an ongoing permanent LiDAR observation of a landslide (Gresten

Purpose: The use of time-resolved four-dimensional computed tomography (4D-CT) in radiotherapy requires strict quality assurance to ensure the accuracy of motion management protocols. The aim of this work was to design and test a phantom capable of large amplitude motion for use in 4D-CT, with particular interest in small lesions typical for stereotactic body radiotherapy. Methods: The phantom of 'see-saw' design is light weight, capable of including various sample materials and compatible with several surrogate marker signal acquisition systems. It is constructed of polymethylmethacrylate (Perspex) and its movement is controlled via a dc motor and drive wheel. It was tested using two CT scanners with different 4D acquisition methods: the Philips Brilliance Big Bore CT (helical scan, pressure belt) and a General Electric Discovery STE PET/CT (axial scan, infrared marker). Amplitudes ranging from 1.5 to 6.0 cm and frequencies of up to 40 cycles per minute were used to study the effect of motion on image quality. Maximum intensity projections (MIPs), as well as average intensity projections (AIPs) of moving objects were investigated and their quality dependence on the number of phase reconstruction bins assessed. Results: CT number discrepancies between moving and stationary objects were found to have no systematic dependence on amplitude, frequency, or specific interphase variability. MIP-delineated amplitudes of motion were found to match physical phantom amplitudes to within 2 mm for all motion scenarios tested. Objects undergoing large amplitude motions (>3.0 cm) were shown to cause artefacts in MIP and AIP projections when ten phase bins were assigned. This problem can be mitigated by increasing the number of phase bins in a 4D-CT scan. Conclusions: The phantom was found to be a suitable tool for evaluating the image quality of 4D-CT motion management technology, as well as providing a quality assurance tool for intercenter/intervendor testing of

Implementation of real-time, continuous, and three-dimensional imaging (4D intervention guidance) would be a quantum leap for minimally-invasive medicine. It allows guidance during interventions by assessing the spatial position of instruments continuously in respect to their surroundings. Recent research showed that it is feasible using X-ray and novel tomographic reconstruction approaches. Radiation dose stays within reasonable limits. This article provides abstractions and background information together with an outlook on these prospects. There are explanations of how situational awareness during interventions is generated today and how they will be in future. The differences between fluoroscopically and CT-guided interventions are eluted to within the context of these developments. The exploration of uncharted terrain between these current methods is worth pursuing. Necessary image quality of 4D intervention guidance varies relevantly from that of standard computed tomography. Means to analyze the risk-b...

Primary hyperparathyroidism (pHPT) is almost exclusively the result of a solitary parathyroid adenoma. In most cases, the affected gland can be surgically removed, but precise preoperative imaging is essential for adenoma localization prior to surgical intervention. In this study, we evaluated...... the diagnostic value of four-dimensional computed tomography (4D-CT) as a preoperative imaging tool in relation to the localization of pathologic parathyroid glands in patients with pHPT and negative sestamibi scans. This study included 43 consecutive patients with pHPT referred for parathyroidectomy...... available as references for the accuracy of this imaging tool. Hyperfunctioning parathyroid glands were found in 40 patients. 4D-CT identified 32 solitary hyperfunctioning parathyroid glands located on the correct side of the neck (PPV 76 %) and 21 located within the correct quadrant (PPV 49 %). Unilateral...

An explicit formula is derived for the generating function of vertical D4-D2-D0 bound states on smooth K3 fibered Calabi-Yau threefolds, generalizing previous results of Gholampour and Sheshmani. It is also shown that this formula satisfies strong modularity properties, as predicted by string the...... theory. This leads to a new construction of vector valued modular forms which exhibits some of the features of a generalized Hecke transform.......An explicit formula is derived for the generating function of vertical D4-D2-D0 bound states on smooth K3 fibered Calabi-Yau threefolds, generalizing previous results of Gholampour and Sheshmani. It is also shown that this formula satisfies strong modularity properties, as predicted by string...

The 4D nucleome has the potential to render challenges in neuropsychiatric pharmacogenomics more tractable. The epigenome roadmap consortium has demonstrated the critical role that noncoding regions of the human genome play in determination of human phenotype. Chromosome conformation capture methods have revealed the 4D organization of the nucleus, bringing interactions between distant regulatory elements into close spatial proximity in a periodic manner. These functional interactions have the potential to elucidate mechanisms of CNS drug response and side effects that previously have been unrecognized. This perspective assesses recent advances likely to reveal novel pharmacodynamic regulatory pathways in human brain, charting a future new avenue of pharmacogenomics research, using the spatial and temporal architecture of the human epigenome as its foundation.

Full Text Available Techniques for medical imaging like fMRI, CT, MRI produces large amount of digital data. This paper proposes a context based LS based predictors for lossless compression of such 4-D images. Redundancy inthe form of smoothness and uniform human anatomical structures as well as periodic motion of this structures and presence of high correlation in temporal domain of these 4-D medical image sequences has been exploited. Slope is defined as one of the criteria which predict the level of activity. Based on the estimated slope the current pixel is categorized into one of the seven classification bins. Optimal predictors are assigned to each bin and classification of bin boundaries and estimation of optimal predictors is doneoffline. The proposed method is computationally very simple as it does not require motion estimation which, in general, is a computationally complex process.

Full Text Available Purpose: Digit ratio (2D:4D has been considered as a proxy biomarker for prenatal hormonal exposure and may represent an individual’s predisposition to breast cancer. The purpose of the present study is to investigate whether there is a link between digit ratio and breast cancer in a Brazilian population.Methods: Digital measurements of the lengths of the index and ring fingers of both hands were obtained from women with breast cancer (n = 100 and age-matched controls (n = 100 using a digital Vernier calliper. Mean digit ratios of right hands, left hands, and right minus left hand 2D:4D (DR-L were compared between both groups. Data were analysed by the Student's t-test for unpaired samples, Mann-Whitney test, and Spearman`s correlation with a significance level of 5%.Results: The patients with breast cancer presented significantly higher right and left 2D:4D (both p < 0.001 and higher DR-L (p = 0.032 than controls. Among breast cancer cases, there was a significantly negative correlation between left 2D:4D and age diagnosed with breast cancer (p = 0.018.Conclusion: Digit ratio offers a valid retrospective biomarker of action of prenatal hormones and might be associated with breast cancer risk and age at onset of breast cancer. It suggests that higher exposure or sensitivity to prenatal oestrogen might be associated with a higher risk of breast cancer and with earlier onset of the disease.

Full Text Available The Kalanchoe pinnata Lam. is a bush species of the Crassulaceae that is distinguished by its important medicinal properties. Its leaves are used as cataplasm to treat headaches and wounds. There is evidence for a hypotensive and anti-inflammatory effect. Techniques of plant tissue culture have been applied to plant species that produce substances likely to be explored in pharmacology, cell suspension being the main technique. At the industrial level, this method utilizes bioreactors in order to produce secondary metabolites on a large scale. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of in vitro combinations of 2,4-dichlorophenoxiacetic acid (2,4-D and benzylaminopurine (BA on callus induction in leaf explants of K. pinnata. Leaf fragments were inoculated in MS medium supplemented with 3.0% sucrose, 0.8% agar and factorial combinations of 2,4-D (0.00, 4.52, 9.06, 18.12 µM and BA (0.00, 4.44, 8.88, 17.76 µM. The cultures were kept in the darkness at 24±2ºC for 50 days. The percentage of callus induction and the area of explants covered by callus cells were evaluated. In the absence of growth regulators, callus induction did not occur, with necrosis of all explants. The highest percentage of callus induction was 100%, obtained with the combination of 9.06 µM 2,4-D and 8.88 µM BA, but the calluses covered only 25% of the leaf area. The most efficient combination was 4.52 µM 2,4-D and 8.88 µM BA, resulting in 91% callus induction with 50 to 100% of the explants being covered by callus cells.

In this paper we present a robust method for segmenting and tracking cardiac contours and tags in 4D cardiac MRI tagged images via spatio-temporal propagation. Our method is based on two main techniques: the Metamorphs Segmentation for robust boundary estimation, and the tunable Gabor filter bank for tagging lines enhancement, removal and myocardium tracking. We have developed a prototype system based on the integration of these two techniques, and achieved efficient, robust segmentation and tracking with minimal human interaction.

The first applications of a prototype 8-channel full waveform active hyperspectral lidar (HSL) show a possibility to determine various target 3D characteristics with remote observations. The results open up a prospect for four-dimensional (4D - a three dimensional target representation with time as a fourth dimension) monitoring of important climate variables, such as those related to tree physiology or snow pollution.

Weed resistance to glyphosate and development of new GM crops tolerant to 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) and dicamba is expected to lead to increased use of these herbicides in cropland. The lady beetle, Coleomegilla maculata is an important beneficial insect in cropland that is commonly used as an indicator species in safety evaluations of pesticides. Here, we examined the lethal and non-lethal effects of 2,4-D and dicamba active ingredients and commercial formulations to this lady beetle species, and tested for synergistic effects of the herbicides. Second instars of lady beetles were exposed to an experimental treatment, and their mortality, development, weight, sex ratio, fecundity, and mobility was evaluated. Using similar methods, a dose-response study was conducted on 2,4-D with and without dicamba. The commercial formulation of 2,4-D was highly lethal to lady beetle larvae; the LC90 of this herbicide was 13 % of the label rate. In this case, the "inactive" ingredients were a key driver of the toxicity. Dicamba active ingredient significantly increased lady beetle mortality and reduced their body weight. The commercial formulations of both herbicides reduced the proportion of males in the lady beetle population. The herbicides when used together did not act synergistically in their toxicity toward lady beetles versus when the chemistries were used independently. Our work shows that herbicide formulations can cause both lethal and sublethal effects on non-target, beneficial insects, and these effects are sometimes driven by the "inactive" ingredients. The field-level implications of shifts in weed management practices on insect management programs should receive further attention.

Bilateral filtration has proven an effective tool for denoising CT data. The classic filter uses Gaussian domain and range weighting functions in 2D. More recently, other distributions have yielded more accurate results in specific applications, and the bilateral filtration framework has been extended to higher dimensions. In this study, brute-force optimization is employed to evaluate the use of several alternative distributions for both domain and range weighting: Andrew's Sine Wave, El Fallah Ford, Gaussian, Flat, Lorentzian, Huber's Minimax, Tukey's Bi-weight, and Cosine. Two variations on the classic bilateral filter, which use median filtration to reduce bias in range weights, are also investigated: median-centric and hybrid bilateral filtration. Using the 4D MOBY mouse phantom reconstructed with noise (stdev. ~ 65 HU), hybrid bilateral filtration, a combination of the classic and median-centric filters, with Flat domain and range weighting is shown to provide optimal denoising results (PSNRs: 31.69, classic; 31.58 median-centric; 32.25, hybrid). To validate these phantom studies, the optimal filters are also applied to in vivo, 4D cardiac micro-CT data acquired in the mouse. In a constant region of the left ventricle, hybrid bilateral filtration with Flat domain and range weighting is shown to provide optimal smoothing (stdev: original, 72.2 HU; classic, 20.3 HU; median-centric, 24.1 HU; hybrid, 15.9 HU). While the optimal results were obtained using 4D filtration, the 3D hybrid filter is ultimately recommended for denoising 4D cardiac micro-CT data, because it is more computationally tractable and less prone to artifacts (MOBY PSNR: 32.05; left ventricle stdev: 20.5 HU).

An explicit formula is derived for the generating function of vertical D4-D2-D0 bound states on smooth K3 fibered Calabi-Yau threefolds, generalizing previous results of Gholampour and Sheshmani. It is also shown that this formula satisfies strong modularity properties, as predicted by string theory. This leads to a new construction of vector valued modular forms which exhibits some of the features of a generalized Hecke transform.

Arctic cyclone activity has a significant association with Arctic warming and Arctic ice decline. Cyclones in the North Pole are more complex and less developed than those in tropical regions. Identifying polar cyclones proves to be a task of greater complexity. To tackle this challenge, a new method which utilizes pressure level data and velocity field is proposed to improve the identification accuracy. In addition, the dynamic, simulative cyclone visualized with a 4D (four-dimensional) wind...

Using the formalism of nonlinear realizations we construct the component on-shell action of the N=4,d=3 Born-Infeld theory, which is the action of N=2, d=3 vector supermultiplet, fixed by invariance with respect to the additional spontaneously broken N=2, d=3 supersymmetry. Our construction shows that dealing with the systems with partial breaking of supersymmetry with vector fields in the multiplet, it is preferrable to use their formulation in terms of fermionic superfields only.

An explicit formula is derived for the generating function of vertical D4-D2-D0 bound states on smooth K3 fibered Calabi-Yau threefolds, generalizing previous results of Gholampour and Sheshmani. It is also shown that this formula satisfies strong modularity properties, as predicted by string...... theory. This leads to a new construction of vector valued modular forms which exhibits some of the features of a generalized Hecke transform....

The use of respiration-correlated cone-beam computed tomography (4D-CBCT) appears to be crucial for implementing precise radiation therapy of lung cancer patients. The reconstruction of 4D-CBCT images requires a respiratory phase. In this paper, we propose a novel method based on an image-based phase recognition technique using normalized cross correlation (NCC). We constructed the respiratory phase by searching for a region in an adjacent projection that achieves the maximum correlation with a region in a reference projection along the cranio-caudal direction. The data on 12 lung cancer patients acquired just prior to treatment and on 3 lung cancer patients acquired during volumetric modulated arc therapy treatment were analyzed in the search for the effective area of cone-beam projection images for performing NCC with 12 combinations of registration area and segment size. The evaluation was done by a "recognition rate" defined as the ratio of the number of peak inhales detected with our method to that detected by eye (manual tracking). The average recognition rate of peak inhale with the most efficient area in the present method was 96.4%. The present method was feasible even when the diaphragm was outside the field of view. With the most efficient area, we reconstructed in-treatment 4D-CBCT by dividing the breathing signal into four phase bins; peak exhale, peak inhale, and two intermediate phases. With in-treatment 4D-CBCT images, it was possible to identify the tumor position and the tumor size in moments of inspiration and expiration, in contrast to in-treatment CBCT reconstructed with all projections.

An explicit formula is derived for the generating function of vertical D4-D2-D0 bound states on smooth K3 fibered Calabi-Yau threefolds, generalizing previous results of Gholampour and Sheshmani. It is also shown that this formula satisfies strong modularity properties, as predicted by string theory. This leads to a new construction of vector valued modular forms which exhibit some of the features of a generalized Hecke transform.

In this paper, we continue our study of calculating the cross section by the spinor method, i.e., performing the phase space integration using the spinor method. We have focused on the case where the physical momenta are massive and in pure 4D. We established the framework of such a new method and presented several examples, including two real progresses: $Z^0\\to l^+ l^- H$ and $q\\O q\\to f {\\O}f H^0$.

The advent of free-of-charge global topographic data sets SRTM and Aster GDEM have enabled testing a host of geoscience hypotheses. Availability of such data is now considered standard, and though resolved at 30-m to 90-m pixel size, they are today regarded as obsolete and inappropriate given the regularly updated sub-meter imagery coming through web services like Google Earth. Two features will thus help meet the current topographic data needs of the Geoscience communities: field-scale-compatible elevation datasets (i.e. meter-scale digital models and sub-meter elevation precision) and provision for regularly updated topography to tackle earth surface changes in 4D, while retaining the key for success: data availability at no charge. A new space borne instrumental concept called Z-Earth has undergone phase 0 study at CNES, the French space agency to fulfill these aims. The scientific communities backing this proposal are that of natural hazards, glaciology and biomass. The system under study combines a short-baseline native stereo imager and a lidar profiler. This combination provides spatially resolved elevation swaths together with absolute along-track elevation control point profiles. Acquisition is designed for revisit time better than a year. Intended products not only target single pass digital surface models, color orthoimages and small footprint full-wave-form lidar profiles to update existing topographic coverage, but also time series of them. 3D change detection targets centimetre-scale horizontal precision and metric vertical precision, in complement of -now traditional- spectral change detection. To assess the actual concept value, two real-size experiments were carried out. We used sub-meter-scale Pleiades panchromatic stereo-images to generate digital surface models and check them against dense airborne lidar coverages, one heliborne set purposely flown in Corsica (50-100pts/sq.m) and a second one retrieved from OpenTopography.org (~10pts/sq.m.). In

At the Heidelberg Ion-Beam Therapy Center, patient irradiation with scanned proton and carbon ion beams is verified by offline positron emission tomography (PET) imaging: the {β+} -activity measured within the patient is compared to a prediction calculated on the basis of the treatment planning data in order to identify potential delivery errors. Currently, this monitoring technique is limited to the treatment of static target structures. However, intra-fractional organ motion imposes considerable additional challenges to scanned ion beam radiotherapy. In this work, the feasibility and potential of time-resolved (4D) offline PET-based treatment verification with a commercial full-ring PET/CT (x-ray computed tomography) device are investigated for the first time, based on an experimental campaign with moving phantoms. Motion was monitored during the gated beam delivery as well as the subsequent PET acquisition and was taken into account in the corresponding 4D Monte-Carlo simulations and data evaluation. Under the given experimental conditions, millimeter agreement between the prediction and measurement was found. Dosimetric consequences due to the phantom motion could be reliably identified. The agreement between PET measurement and prediction in the presence of motion was found to be similar as in static reference measurements, thus demonstrating the potential of 4D PET-based treatment verification for future clinical applications.

Full Text Available Background. We introduce a novel description system of shoulder pathoanatomy. Its goal is to provide a comprehensive three-dimensional picture, with an additional component of time; thus, we call it the 4D code. Methods. Each line of the code starts with right versus left and a time designation. The pillar components are recorded regardless of pathology; they include subscapularis, long head of biceps tendon, supraspinatus, infraspinatus, and teres minor. Secondary elements can be added if there is observed pathology, including acromioclavicular joint, glenohumeral joint, labrum, tear configuration, location and extent of partial cuff tear, calcific tendonitis, fatty infiltration, and neuropathy. Results. We provide two illustrative examples of patients which show the ease and effectiveness of the 4D code. With a few simple lines, significant amount of information about patients’ pathology, surgery, and recovery can be easily conveyed. Discussion. We utilize existing validated classification systems for parts of the shoulder and provide a frame work to build a comprehensive picture. The alphanumeric code provides a simple language that is universally understood. The 4D code is concise yet complete. It seeks to improve efficiency and accuracy of the communication, documentation, and visualization of shoulder pathology within individual practices and between providers.

For the case of generic 4d symplectic maps with a mixed phase space, we investigate the global organization of regular tori. For this, we compute elliptic 1-tori of two coupled standard maps and display them in a 3d phase-space slice. This visualizes how all regular 2-tori are organized around a skeleton of elliptic 1-tori in the 4d phase space. The 1-tori occur in two types of one-parameter families: (α) Lyapunov families emanating from elliptic-elliptic periodic orbits, which are observed to exist even far away from them and beyond major resonance gaps, and (β) families originating from rank-1 resonances. At resonance gaps of both types of families either (i) periodic orbits exist, similar to the Poincaré-Birkhoff theorem for 2d maps, or (ii) the family may form large bends. In combination, these results allow for describing the hierarchical structure of regular tori in the 4d phase space analogously to the islands-around-islands hierarchy in 2d maps.

This article is designed to focus attention on the Markov-Yukawa Transversality Principle (MYTP) as a novel paradigm for an exact 3D-4D interlinkage between the corresponding BSE amplitudes, with a closely parallel treatment of $q{\\bar q}$ and $qqq$ systems, stemming from a common 4-fermion Lagrangian mediated by gluon (vector)-like exchange. This unique feature of MYTP owes its origin to a Lorentz- covariant 3D support to the BS kernel, which acts as a sort of `gauge principle' and distinguishes it from most other 3D approaches to strong interaction dynamics. Some of the principal approaches in the latter category are briefly reviewed so as to set the (less familiar) MYTP in their context. Two specific types of MYTP which provide 3D support to the BSE kernel, are considered: a) Covariant Instantaneity Ansatz (CIA); b) Covariant LF/NP ansatz (Cov.LF). Both lead to formaly identical 3D BSE reductions but produce sharply different 4D structures: Under CIA, the 4D loop integrals suffer from Lorentz mismatch of t...

The meristematic mitotic cells of Allium cepa is an efficient cytogenetic material for chromosome aberration assay on environmental pollutants. For assessing genotoxicity of pentachlorophenol (PCP), 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) and 2-chloro-2,6-diethyl-N-(butoxymethyl) acetanilide (butachlor), 50% effective concentration (EC(50)), c-mitosis, stickiness, chromosome breaks and mitotic index (MI) were used as endpoints of genotoxicity. EC(50) values for PCP and butachlor are 0.73 and 5.13 ppm, respectively. 2,4-D evidently induced morphological changes at higher concentrations. Some changes like crochet hooks, c-tumours and broken roots were unique to 2,4-D at 5-20 ppm. No such abnormalities were found in PCP and butachlor treated groups, however, root deteriorated and degenerated at higher concentrations (butachlor it was recorded 71.6%, which is near to the control value. All chemicals induced chromosome aberrations at statistically significant level. The highest chromosome aberration frequency (11.90%) was recorded in PCP at 3 ppm. Large number of c-mitotic anaphases indicated that butachlor acts as potent spindle inhibitor, whereas, breaks, bridges, stickiness and laggards were most frequently found in PCP showing that it is a potent clastogen.

Validation of 4D MRI flow sequences with planar particle image velocimetry (PIV) is performed in a physiologically-accurate flow phantom. A patient-specific phantom of a carotid artery is connected to a pulsatile flow loop to simulate the 3D unsteady flow in the cardiovascular anatomy. Cardiac-cycle synchronized MRI provides time-resolved 3D blood velocity measurements in clinical tool that is promising but lacks a robust validation framework. PIV at three different Reynolds numbers (540, 680, and 815, chosen based on +/- 20 % of the average velocity from the patient-specific CCA waveform) and four different Womersley numbers (3.30, 3.68, 4.03, and 4.35, chosen to reflect a physiological range of heart rates) are compared to 4D-MRI measurements. An accuracy assessment of raw velocity measurements and a comparison of estimated and measureable flow parameters such as wall shear stress, fluctuating velocity rms, and Lagrangian particle residence time, will be presented, with justification for their biomechanics relevance to the pathophysiology of arterial disease: atherosclerosis and intimal hyperplasia. Lastly, the framework is applied to a new 4D-Flow MRI sequence and post processing techniques to provide a quantitative assessment with the benchmarked data. Department of Education GAANN Fellowship.

Hydrocarbon production induces time-lapse changes in the seismic attributes (travel time and amplitude) both at the level of the producing reservoir and in the surrounding rock. The detected time-lapse changes in the seismic are induced from the changes in the petrophysical properties of the rock, i

Highlights: ► Sema4d was expressed at all developmental stages of zebrafish. ► Knockdown of sema4d in embryos resulted in defects in the hindbrain and the trunk structure. ► Knockdown of sema4d in embryos upregulated the expression of three hindbrain rhombomere markers. ► Knockdown of sema4d in embryos increased the expression of myogenic regulatory factors. ► Knockdown of sema4d in embryos resulted in an obvious increase of cell apoptosis. -- Abstract: Semaphorin4d (SEMA4D), also known as CD100, an oligodendrocyte secreted R-Ras GTPase-activating protein (GAP), affecting axonal growth is involved in a range of processes including cell adhesion, motility, angiogenesis, immune responses and tumour progression. However, its actual physiological mechanisms and its role in development remain unclear. This study has focused on the role of sema4d in the development and expression patterns in zebrafish embryos and the effect of its suppression on development using sema4d-specific antisense morpholino-oligonucleotides. In this study the knockdown of sema4d, expressed at all developmental stages, lead to defects in the hindbrain and trunk structure of zebrafish embryos. In addition, these phenotypes appeared to be associated with the abnormal expression of three hindbrain rhombomere boundary markers, wnt1, epha4a and foxb1.2, and two myogenic regulatory factors, myod and myog. Further, a notable increase of cell apoptosis appeared in the sema4d knockdown embryos, while no obvious reduction in cell proliferation was observed. Collectively, these data suggest that sema4d plays an important role in the development of the hindbrain and skeletal muscle.

Full Text Available Abstract Background Fragility fractures caused by osteoporosis are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in aging populations. Bone mineral density (BMD is a useful surrogate marker for risk of fracture and is a highly heritable trait. The genetic variants underlying this genetic contribution are largely unknown. Methods We performed a large-scale association study investigating more than 25,000 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs located within 16,000 genes. Allele frequencies were estimated in contrasting DNA pools from white females selected for low (2, n = 319 and high (> 1.11 g/cm2, n = 321 BMD at the lumbar spine. Significant findings were verified in two additional sample collections. Results Based on allele frequency differences between DNA pools and subsequent individual genotyping, one of the candidate loci indicated was the phosphodiesterase 4D (PDE4D gene region on chromosome 5q12. We subsequently tested the marker SNP, rs1498608, in a second sample of 138 white females with low (2 and 138 females with high (>1.04 g/cm2 lumbar spine BMD. Odds ratios were 1.5 (P = 0.035 in the original sample and 2.1 (P = 0.018 in the replication sample. Association fine mapping with 80 SNPs located within 50 kilobases of the marker SNP identified a 20 kilobase region of association containing exon 6 of PDE4D. In a second, family-based replication sample with a preponderance of females with low BMD, rs1498608 showed an opposite relationship with BMD at different sites (p = 0.00044-0.09. We also replicated the previously reported association of the Ser37Ala polymorphism in BMP2, known to interact biologically with PDE4D, with BMD. Conclusion This study indicates that variants in the gene encoding PDE4D account for some of the genetic contribution to bone mineral density variation in humans. The contrasting results from different samples indicate that the effect may be context-dependent. PDE4 inhibitors have been shown to increase bone mass in

Micro-CT is commonly used in preclinical studies to provide anatomical information. There is growing interest in obtaining functional measurements from 4D micro-CT. We report here strategies for 4D micro-CT with a focus on two applications: (i) cardiac imaging based on retrospective gating and (ii) pulmonary perfusion using multiple contrast injections/rotations paradigm. A dual source micro-CT system is used for image acquisition with a sampling rate of 20 projections per second. The cardiac micro-CT protocol involves the use of a liposomal blood pool contrast agent. Fast scanning of free breathing mice is achieved using retrospective gating. The ECG and respiratory signals are used to sort projections into ten cardiac phases. The pulmonary perfusion protocol uses a conventional contrast agent (Isovue 370) delivered by a micro-injector in four injections separated by 2 min intervals to allow for clearance. Each injection is synchronized with the rotation of the animal, and each of the four rotations is started with an angular offset of 22.5 from the starting angle of the previous rotation. Both cardiac and perfusion protocols result in an irregular angular distribution of projections that causes significant streaking artifacts in reconstructions when using traditional filtered backprojection (FBP) algorithms. The reconstruction involves the use of the point spread function of the micro-CT system for each time point, and the analysis of the distribution of the reconstructed data in the Fourier domain. This enables us to correct for angular inconsistencies via deconvolution and identify regions where data is missing. The missing regions are filled with data from a high quality but temporally averaged prior image reconstructed with all available projections. Simulations indicate that deconvolution successfully removes the streaking artifacts while preserving temporal information. 4D cardiac micro-CT in a mouse was performed with adequate image quality at isotropic

Full Text Available The relative lengths of the 2nd and 4th digits (2D:4D is a negative biomarker for prenatal testosterone, and low 2D:4D may be associated with aggression. However, the evidence for a 2D:4D-aggression association is mixed. Here we test the hypothesis that 2D:4D is robustly linked to aggression in “challenge” situations in which testosterone is increased. Participants were exposed to an aggressive video and a control video. Aggression was measured after each video and salivary free testosterone levels before and after each video. Compared to the control video, the aggressive video was associated with raised aggression responses and a marginally significant increase in testosterone. Left 2D:4D was negatively correlated with aggression after the aggressive video and the strength of the correlation was higher in those participants who showed the greatest increases in testosterone. Left 2D:4D was also negatively correlated to the difference between aggression scores in the aggressive and control conditions. The control video did not influence testosterone concentrations and there were no associations between 2D:4D and aggression. We conclude that 2D:4D moderates the impact of an aggressive stimulus on aggression, such that an increase in testosterone resulting from a “challenge” is associated with a negative correlation between 2D:4D and aggression.

NASA's launch of the GOES-R Lightning Mapper (GLM) in 2015 will provide continuous, full disc, high resolution total lightning (IC + CG) data. The data will be available at a horizontal resolution of approximately 9 km. Compared to other types of data, the assimilation of lightning data into operational numerical models has received relatively little attention. Previous efforts of lightning assimilation mostly have employed nudging. This paper will describe the implementation of 1D+3D/4D Var assimilation schemes of existing ground-based WTLN (Worldwide Total Lightning Network) lightning observations using non-linear observation operators in the incremental WRFDA system. To mimic the expected output of GLM, the WTLN data were used to generate lightning super-observations characterized by flash rates/81 km2/20 min. A major difficulty associated with variational approaches is the complexity of the observation operator that defines the model equivalent of lightning. We use Convective Available Potential Energy (CAPE) as a proxy between lightning data and model variables. This operator is highly nonlinear. Marecal and Mahfouf (2003) have shown that nonlinearities can prevent direct assimilation of rainfall rates in the ECMWF 4D-VAR (using the incremental formulation proposed by Courtier et al. (1994)) from being successful. Using data from the 2011 Tuscaloosa, AL tornado outbreak, we have proved that the direct assimilation of lightning data into the WRF 3D/4D - Var systems is limited due to this incremental approach. Severe threshold limits must be imposed on the innovation vectors to obtain an improved analysis. We have implemented 1D+3D/4D Var schemes to assimilate lightning observations into the WRF model. Their use avoids innovation vector constrains from preventing the inclusion of a greater number of lightning observations Their use also minimizes the problem that nonlinearities in the moist convective scheme can introduce discontinuities in the cost function

Future nanomanufacturing tools will prepare organic materials with complex four-dimensional (4D) structure, where the position (x, y, z) and chemical composition within a volume is controlled with sub-1 μm spatial resolution. Such tools could produce substrates that mimic biological interfaces, like the cell surface or the extracellular matrix, whose topology and chemical complexity combine to direct some of the most sophisticated biological events. The control of organic materials at the nanoscale-level of spatial resolution could revolutionize the assembly of next generation optical and electronic devices or substrates for tissue engineering or enable fundamental biological or material science investigations. Organic chemistry provides the requisite control over the orientation and position of matter within a nanoscale reference frame through the formation of new covalent bonds. Several challenges however preclude the integration of organic chemistry with conventional nanomanufacturing approaches, namely most nanolithography platforms would denature or destroy delicate organic and biologically active matter, confirming covalent bond formation at interfaces remains difficult, and finally, only a small handful of the reactions used to transform molecules in solution have been validated on surfaces. Thus, entirely new approaches, where organic transformations and spatial control are considered equally important contributors, are needed to create 4D organic nanoprinting platforms. This Account describes efforts from our group to reconcile nanolithography, and specifically massively parallel scanning probe lithography (SPL), with organic chemistry to further the goal of 4D organic nanoprinting. Massively parallel SPL involves arrays of elastomeric pyramids mounted onto piezoelectric actuators, and creates patterns with feature diameters below 50 nm by using the pyramidal tips for either the direct deposition of ink or the localized delivery of energy to a surface

The theoretical investigation of the single-photoionization spectra in the 4d-resonance region (120-150 eV) for the ionic cerium Ce3+ and cerium in the endohedral complex {{Ce}}@{{{{C}}}82}+ (in practice, {{{Ce}}}3+@{{{{C}}}82}2-) is presented. The fullerene cage is modeled by ab initio spherical jellium shell with an accurate account for the real distribution of carbon electron density. The oscillator strengths are calculated within the multiconfiguration Dirac-Fock (MCDF) approach for phototransitions from the outermost shells of the ion Ce3+ with and without the influence of the potential generated by a fullerene cage. It is shown that the integrated oscillator strengths have the main contribution from the Ce3+ 4d → 4f (ten possible from the phototransitions {}2F{7/2,5/2}\\to {}2D{3/2,5/2},{}2F{5/2,7/2},{}2G{5/2,7/2}) resonance photoexcitations. The corresponding precise MCDF values for the oscillator strengths and the transition energies are presented for the first time. It is demonstrated that the resonance {f}4d\\to 4f oscillator strengths are slightly affected by the presence of the cage potential, despite the fact that the spectral levels structure is changed when the effect of this potential is included. The Auger 4d -1 decay from the cerium free ion Ce3+ and the encapsulated endohedral ion Ce3+@ are considered within the two-step model and the corresponding Lorentzian profiles are presented. This model clearly reveals the correspondence of the complex resonance profile in the Ce3+ photoabsorption to the fine structure of ion energy levels. The smoothing of the resonance profile in the photoabsorption of the endohedral system {{Ce}}@{{{{C}}}82}+ compared with the free ion Ce3+ is attributed to increasing the linewidths of the Auger transitions. This increase is estimated from the relevant experiment (Müller et al 2008 Phys. Rev. Lett. 101 133001) to be strong; as at least three times the value for an isolated ion. The presence of the confining fullerene

Inverted sandwich type complexes (ISTCs) of 4d metals, (μ-η(6):η(6)-C(6)H(6))[M(DDP)](2) (DDPH = 2-{(2,6-diisopropylphenyl)amino}-4-{(2,6-diisopropylphenyl)imino}pent-2-ene; M = Y, Zr, Nb, Mo, and Tc), were investigated with density functional theory (DFT) and MRMP2 methods, where a model ligand AIP (AIPH = (Z)-1-amino-3-imino-prop-1-ene) was mainly employed. When going to Nb (group V) from Y (group III) in the periodic table, the spin multiplicity of the ground state increases in the order singlet, triplet, and quintet for M = Y, Zr, and Nb, respectively, like 3d ISTCs reported recently. This is interpreted with orbital diagram and number of d electrons. However, the spin multiplicity decreases to either singlet or triplet in ISTC of Mo (group VI) and to triplet in ISTC of Tc (group VII), where MRMP2 method is employed because the DFT method is not useful here. These spin multiplicities are much lower than the septet of ISTC of Cr and the nonet of that of Mn. When going from 3d to 4d, the position providing the maximum spin multiplicity shifts to group V from group VII. These differences arise from the size of the 4d orbital. Because of the larger size of the 4d orbital, the energy splitting between two d(δ) orbitals of M(AIP) and that between the d(δ) and d(π) orbitals are larger in the 4d complex than in the 3d complex. Thus, when occupation on the d(δ) orbital starts, the low spin state becomes ground state, which occurs at group VI. Hence, the ISTC of Nb (group V) exhibits the maximum spin multiplicity.

We aimed to evaluate the use of time-resolved whole-head CT angiography (4D-CTA) in patients with an untreated arteriovenous malformation of the brain (bAVM), as demonstrated by catheter angiography (DSA). Seventeen patients with a DSA-proven bAVM were enrolled. These were subjected to 4D-CTA imaging using a 320 detector row CT scanner. Using a standardized scoring sheet, all studies were analyzed by a panel of three readers. This panel was blind to the DSA results at the time of reading the 4D-CTA. 4D-CTA detected all bAVMs. With regard to the Spetzler-Martin grade, 4D-CTA disagreed with DSA in only one case, where deep venous drainage was missed. Further discrepancies between 4D-CTA and DSA analyses included underestimation of the nidus size in small lesions (four cases), misinterpretation of a feeding vessel (one case), misinterpretation of indirect feeding through pial collaterals (three cases) and oversight of mild arterial enlargement (two cases). 4D-CTA correctly distinguished low-flow from high-flow lesions and detected dural/transosseous feeding (one case), venous narrowing (one case) and venous pouches (nine cases). In this series, 4D-CTA was able to detect all bAVMs. Although some angioarchitectural details were missed or misinterpreted when compared to DSA, 4D-CTA evaluation was sufficiently accurate to diagnose the shunt and classify it. Moreover, 4D-CTA adds cross-sectional imaging and perfusion maps, helpful in treatment planning. 4D-CTA appears to be a valuable new adjunct in the non-invasive diagnostic work-up of bAVMs and their follow-up when managed conservatively. (orig.)

The Ce 3d- and 4d-core photoabsorption spectra (3d XAS and 4d XAS) of ferromagnetic mixed valent Ce compounds are calculated on the basis of the impurity Anderson model. The model takes into account the Coulomb interaction producing multiplet structures, the spin-orbit interaction, the crystal field effect and the molecular field acting on the 4f spin. The calculation shows a strong circular dichroism even for the Ce magnetic moment of ˜0.5 μB. The dichroism is furthermore shown to be a powerful method to measure the spin and orbital contributions to the 4f moment. On the basis of the calculation, the 4f magnetic state of the ferromagnet CeRh3B2 is discussed.

Linear dichroism in Ce 4d-core photoabsorption for CeRh3B2 with a hexagonal structure is discussed on the basis of an impurity Anderson model. The model takes into account the hybridization between the 4f orbit and conduction band states, multiplets arising from electrostatic interactions between electrons and crystalline anisotropy. In the paramagnetic state of the compound, the difference in the multiplet structure of 4d XAS is calculated between two incident beams with polarizations parallel and perpendicular to the c-axis with varying the crystalline field to increase the occupancy of the 4f state with the azimuthal quantum number m{=}0. The result shows that the dichroism is a promising characteristic to check recent theoretical predictions on the occupancy of the 4f state with m{=}0 in CeRh3B2 and therefore, to measure the crystal anisotropy.

The purpose of this work is simulation of magnetised plasmas in the ITER project framework. In this context, Vlasov-Poisson like models are used to simulate core turbulence in the tokamak in a toroidal geometry. This leads to heavy simulation because a 6D dimensional problem has to be solved, 3D in space and 3D in velocity. The model is reduced to a 5D gyrokinetic model, taking advantage of the particular motion of particles due to the presence of a strong magnetic field. However, accurate schemes, parallel algorithms need to be designed to bear these simulations. This paper describes a Hermite formulation of the conservative PSM scheme which is very generic and allows to implement different semi-Lagrangian schemes. We also test and propose numerical limiters which should improve the robustness of the simulations by diminishing spurious oscillations. We only consider here the 4D drift-kinetic model which is the backbone of the 5D gyrokinetic models and relevant to build a robust and accurate numerical method.

Purpose: 4D CT imaging in mice is important in a variety of areas including studies of lung function and tumor motion. A necessary step in 4D imaging is obtaining a respiratory signal, which can be done through an external system or intrinsically through the projection images. A number of methods have been developed that can successfully determine the respiratory signal from cone-beam projection images of humans, however only a few have been utilized in a preclinical setting and most of these rely on step-and-shoot style imaging. The purpose of this work is to assess and make adaptions of several successful methods developed for humans for an image-guided preclinical radiation therapy system. Methods: Respiratory signals were determined from the projection images of free-breathing mice scanned on the X-RAD system using four methods: the so-called Amsterdam shroud method, a method based on the phase of the Fourier transform, a pixel intensity method, and a center of mass method. The Amsterdam shroud method was modified so the sharp inspiration peaks associated with anesthetized mouse breathing could be detected. Respiratory signals were used to sort projections into phase bins and 4D images were reconstructed. Error and standard deviation in the assignment of phase bins for the four methods compared to a manual method considered to be ground truth were calculated for a range of region of interest (ROI) sizes. Qualitative comparisons were additionally made between the 4D images obtained using each of the methods and the manual method. Results: 4D images were successfully created for all mice with each of the respiratory signal extraction methods. Only minimal qualitative differences were noted between each of the methods and the manual method. The average error (and standard deviation) in phase bin assignment was 0.24 ± 0.08 (0.49 ± 0.11) phase bins for the Fourier transform method, 0.09 ± 0.03 (0.31 ± 0.08) phase bins for the modified Amsterdam shroud method, 0

We report results of a first-principles density-functional study of alloys of the 4d -element Mo with group IV elements Si, Ge and Sn in zinc blende (ZB) and rock salt (RS) structures. The study was motivated by a similar study of ours based on the 4d -element Tc, which showed the presence of half-metallic states with integer magnetic moment (1μB) per formula unit in TcX (X=C, Si, Ge) alloys. The calculated Curie temperatures for the ferromagnetic (FM) phases were low, around or less than 300 K. Searching for the possibility of 4d -based alloys with higher Curie temperatures we have carried out the study involving the elements Mo, Ru and Rh. Among these the most promising case appears to be that involving the element Mo. Among the MoX (X=Si, Ge, Sn) alloys in ZB and RS structures, both MoGe and MoSn in ZB structures are found to possess an integer magnetic moment of 2μB per formula unit. ZB MoSn can be classified as a marginal/weak half-metal or a spin gapless semiconductor, while ZB MoGe would be best described as a gapless magnetic semiconductor. The calculated Curie temperatures are in the range 300-700 K. Considering the theoretical uncertainty in the band gaps due not only to the treatment of exchange and correlation effects, but density functional theory itself, these classifications may change somewhat, but both merit investigation from the viewpoint of potential spintronic application. Based on their higher Curie temperatures, Mo-based alloys would serve such purpose better than the previously reported Tc-based ones.

Full Text Available Abstract Purpose Physiological respiratory motion of tumors growing in the lung can be corrected with respiratory gating when treated with radiotherapy (RT. The optimal respiratory phase for beam-on may be assessed with a respiratory phase optimizer (RPO, a 4D image processing software developed with this purpose. Methods and Materials Fourteen patients with lung cancer were included in the study. Every patient underwent a 4D-CT providing ten datasets of ten phases of the respiratory cycle (0-100% of the cycle. We defined two morphological parameters for comparison of 4D-CT images in different respiratory phases: tumor-volume to lung-volume ratio and tumor-to-spinal cord distance. The RPO automatized the calculations (200 per patient of these parameters for each phase of the respiratory cycle allowing to determine the optimal interval for RT. Results Lower lobe lung tumors not attached to the diaphragm presented with the largest motion with breathing. Maximum inspiration was considered the optimal phase for treatment in 4 patients (28.6%. In 7 patients (50%, however, the RPO showed a most favorable volumetric and spatial configuration in phases other than maximum inspiration. In 2 cases (14.4% the RPO showed no benefit from gating. This tool was not conclusive in only one case. Conclusions The RPO software presented in this study can help to determine the optimal respiratory phase for gated RT based on a few simple morphological parameters. Easy to apply in daily routine, it may be a useful tool for selecting patients who might benefit from breathing adapted RT.

Four-dimensional cone-beam computed tomography (4D-CBCT) of the free-breathing thorax is a valuable tool in image-guided radiation therapy of the thorax and the upper abdomen. It allows the determination of the position of a tumor throughout the breathing cycle, while only its mean position can be extracted from three-dimensional CBCT. The classical approaches are not fully satisfactory: respiration-correlated methods allow one to accurately locate high-contrast structures in any frame, but contain strong streak artifacts unless the acquisition is significantly slowed down. Motion-compensated methods can yield streak-free, but static, reconstructions. This work proposes a 4D-CBCT method that can be seen as a trade-off between respiration-correlated and motion-compensated reconstruction. It builds upon the existing reconstruction using spatial and temporal regularization (ROOSTER) and is called motion-aware ROOSTER (MA-ROOSTER). It performs temporal regularization along curved trajectories, following the motion estimated on a prior 4D CT scan. MA-ROOSTER does not involve motion-compensated forward and back projections: the input motion is used only during temporal regularization. MA-ROOSTER is compared to ROOSTER, motion-compensated Feldkamp-Davis-Kress (MC-FDK), and two respiration-correlated methods, on CBCT acquisitions of one physical phantom and two patients. It yields streak-free reconstructions, visually similar to MC-FDK, and robust information on tumor location throughout the breathing cycle. MA-ROOSTER also allows a variation of the lung tissue density during the breathing cycle, similar to that of planning CT, which is required for quantitative post-processing.

This book explains integrated circuit design for manufacturability (DfM) at the product level (packaging, applications) and applies engineering DfM principles to the latest standards of product development at 22 nm technology nodes.Â It is a valuable guide for layout designers, packaging engineers and quality engineers, covering DfM development from 1D to 4D, involving IC design flow setup, best practices, links to manufacturing and product definition, for process technologies down to 22 nm node, and product families including memories, logic, system-on-chip and system-in-package.

In this letter, we present experimental investigations of multidimensional multilevel carrierless amplitude phase (CAP) modulation with directly modulated vertical cavity surface-emitting lasers. The signals are transmitted over 20 km of standard single-mode fiber (SSMF). For multilevel 3-D......-CAP, bit rates of 468.75 and 937.5 Mb/s are achieved at two levels/dimension and four levels/dimension, respectively. For 4-D-CAP, bit rates of 416.67 and 833.3 Mb/s are achieved at two levels/dimension and four levels/dimension, respectively. For all signals, a bit-error rate below the forward error...

A study demonstrating an imaging framework that permits the determination of cell lineages during organogenesis of the posterior lateral line in zebrafish is presented. The combination of Selective Plane Illumination Microscopy and specific fluorescent markers allows retrospective tracking of hair cell progenitors, and hence the derivation of their lineages within the primodium. It is shown that, because of its superior signal-to-noise ratio and lower photo-damaged properties, SPIM can provide significantly higher-quality images than Spinning Disk Confocal technology. This allows accurate 4D lineage tracing for the hair cells over tens of hours of primordium migration and neuromast development.

This book is aimed at advanced undergraduates, graduate students and other researchers who possess an introductory background in materials physics and/or chemistry, and an interest in the physical and chemical properties of novel materials, especially transition metal oxides.New materials often exhibit novel phenomena of great fundamental and technological importance. Contributing authors review the structural, physical and chemical properties of notable 4d- and 5d-transition metal oxides discovered over the last 10 years. These materials exhibit extraordinary physical properties that differ s

We study the properties of 4d N=3 superconformal field theories whose rank is one, i.e. those that reduce to a single vector multiplet on their moduli space of vacua. We find that the moduli space can only be of the form C^3/Z_k for k=1,2,3,4,6, and that the supersymmetry automatically enhances to N=4 for k=1,2. In addition, we determine the central charges a and c in terms of k, and construct the associated 2d chiral algebras, which turn out to be exotic N=2 supersymmetric W-algebras.

Purpose: To correlate ventilation parameters computed from 4D CT to ventilation, profusion, and gas exchange measured with hyperpolarized Xenon-129 MRI for a set of lung cancer patients. Methods: Hyperpolarized Xe-129 MRI lung scans were acquired for lung cancer patients, before and after radiation therapy, measuring ventilation, perfusion, and gas exchange. In the standard clinical workflow, these patients also received 4D CT scans before treatment. Ventilation was computed from 4D CT using deformable image registration (DIR). All phases of the 4D CT scan were registered using a B-spline deformable registration. Ventilation at the voxel level was then computed for each phase based on a Jacobian volume expansion metric, yielding phase sorted ventilation images. Ventilation based upon 4D CT and Xe-129 MRI were co-registered, allowing qualitative visual comparison and qualitative comparison via the Pearson correlation coefficient. Results: Analysis shows a weak correlation between hyperpolarized Xe-129 MRI and 4D CT DIR ventilation, with a Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.17 to 0.22. Further work will refine the DIR parameters to optimize the correlation. The weak correlation could be due to the limitations of 4D CT, registration algorithms, or the Xe-129 MRI imaging. Continued development will refine parameters to optimize correlation. Conclusion: Current analysis yields a minimal correlation between 4D CT DIR and Xe-129 MRI ventilation. Funding provided by the 2014 George Amorino Pilot Grant in Radiation Oncology at the University of Virginia.

We present an extension of a self-respiratory technique to acquire 4D flow data. Self-navigation is obtained from k-space center profiles and the breathing signal is used in real time to gate the scan. The method allows us to acquire an isotropic non-angulated volume, 4D flow encoded, of the whol...

Three types of solid phase chemical exposure sampling media: cellulose, polyurethane foam (PUF) and XAD-2, were analyzed for 2,4-D and the amine salts of 2,4-D. Individual samples were extracted into acidified methanol and the extracts were analyzed via LC/MS/MS using electrospra...

This study demonstrates the added benefits of assimilating the Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder (ATMS) radiances from the Suomi-NPP satellite in the NCMRWF Unified Model (NCUM). ATMS is a cross-track scanning microwave radiometer inherited the legacy of two very successful instrument namely, Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit-A (AMSU-A) and Microwave Humidity Sounder (MHS). ATMS has 22 channels: 11 temperature sounding channels around 50-60 GHz oxygen band and 6 moisture sounding channels around the 183GHz water vapour band in addition to 5 channels sensitive to the surface in clear conditions, or to water vapour, rain, and cloud when conditions are not clear (at 23, 31, 50, 51 and 89 GHz). Before operational assimilation of any new observation by NWP centres it is standard practice to assess data quality with respect to NWP model background (short-forecast) fields. Quality of all channels is estimated against the model background and the biases are computed and compared against that from the similar observations. The impact of the ATMS data on global analyses and forecasts is tested by adding the ATMS data in the NCUM Observation Processing system (OPS) and 4D-Var variational assimilation (VAR) system. This paper also discusses the pre-operational numerical experiments conducted to assess the impact of ATMS radiances in the NCUM assimilation system. It is noted that the performance of ATMS is stable and it contributes to the performance of the model, complimenting observations from other instruments.

2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) and its metabolite 2,4-dichlorophenol (DCP) are used extensively in agriculture as herbicides, and are suspected of potential endocrine disruptor activity. In a previous study, we showed that these compounds exhibited synergistic androgenic effects by co-treatment with testosterone in the Hershberger assay. To elucidate the mechanisms of the synergistic effects of these compounds on the androgenicity of testosterone, the androgenic action of 2,4-D and DCP was characterized using a mammalian detection system in prostate cancer cell lines. In in vitro assay systems, while 2,4-D or DCP alone did not show androgenic activity, 2,4-D or DCP with 5alpha-dihydroxytestosterone (DHT) exhibited synergistic androgenic activities. Co-treatment of 10 nM 2,4-D or DCP with 10 nM DHT was shown to stimulate the cell proliferation by 1.6-fold, compared to 10 nM DHT alone. In addition, in transient transfection assays, androgen-induced transactivation was also increased to a maximum of 32-fold or 1.28-fold by co-treatment of 2,4-D or DCP with DHT, respectively. However, 2,4-D and DCP exerted no effects on either mRNA or protein levels of AR. In a competitive AR binding assay, 2,4-D and DCP inhibited androgen binding to AR, up to 50% at concentrations of approximately 0.5 microM for both compounds. The nuclear translocation of green fluorescent protein-AR fusion protein in the presence of DHT was promoted as the result of the addition of 2,4-D and DCP. Collectively, these results that 2,4-D and DCP enhanced DHT-induced AR transcriptional activity might be attributable, at least in part, to the promotion of AR nuclear translocation.

We have developed a method called intersection profile method to construct a 4D-MRI (3D+time) from time-series of 2D-MRI. The basic idea is to find the best matching of the intersection profile from the time series of 2D-MRI in sagittal plane (navigator slice) and time series of 2D-MRI in coronal plane (data slice). In this study, we use 4D-MRI to semiautomatically extract the right diaphragm motion of 16 subjects (8 healthy subjects and 8 COPD patients). The diaphragm motion is then evaluated quantitatively by calculating the displacement of each subjects and normalized it. We also generate phase-length map to view and locate paradoxical motion of the COPD patients. The quantitative results of the normalized displacement shows that COPD patients tend to have smaller displacement compared to healthy subjects. The average normalized displacement of total 8 COPD patients is 9.4mm and the average of normalized displacement of 8 healthy volunteers is 15.3mm. The generated phase-length maps show that not all of the COPD patients have paradoxical motion, however if it has paradoxical motion, the phase-length map is able to locate where does it occur.

A critical aspect of highly potent regimens such as lung stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) is to avoid collateral toxicity while achieving planning target volume (PTV) coverage. In this work, we describe four dimensional conformal radiotherapy using a highly parallelizable swarm intelligence-based stochastic optimization technique. Conventional lung CRT-SBRT uses a 4DCT to create an internal target volume and then, using forward-planning, generates a 3D conformal plan. In contrast, we investigate an inverse-planning strategy that uses 4DCT data to create a 4D conformal plan, which is optimized across the three spatial dimensions (3D) as well as time, as represented by the respiratory phase. The key idea is to use respiratory motion as an additional degree of freedom. We iteratively adjust fluence weights for all beam apertures across all respiratory phases considering OAR sparing, PTV coverage and delivery efficiency. To demonstrate proof-of-concept, five non-small-cell lung cancer SBRT patients were retrospectively studied. The 4D optimized plans achieved PTV coverage comparable to the corresponding clinically delivered plans while showing significantly superior OAR sparing ranging from 26% to 83% for D max heart, 10%-41% for D max esophagus, 31%-68% for D max spinal cord and 7%-32% for V 13 lung.

In this paper we present a beautifully consistent web of evidence for the existence of interacting 4d rank-1 $\\cN=2$ SCFTs obtained from gauging discrete subgroups of global symmetries of other existing 4d rank-1 $\\cN=2$ SCFTs. The global symmetries that can be gauged involve a non-trivial combination of discrete subgroups of the $U(1)_R$, low-energy EM duality group $SL(2,\\Z)$, and the outer automorphism group of the flavor symmetry algebra, Out($F$). The theories that we construct are remarkable in many ways: (i) two of them have exceptional $F_4$ and $G_2$ flavor groups; (ii) they substantially complete the picture of the landscape of rank-1 $\\cN=2$ SCFTs as they realize all but one of the remaining consistent rank-1 Seiberg-Witten geometries that we previously constructed but were not associated to known SCFTs; and (iii) some of them have enlarged $\\cN=3$ SUSY, and have not been previously constructed. They are also examples of SCFTs which violate the Shapere-Tachikawa relation between the conformal centr...

Quantum electrodynamic (QED) corrections to 4p-4d transition energies of several copper-like ions with Z = 70-92 are calculated non-perturbatively in strong external fields to all orders in binding corrections. Dirac-Kohn-Sham potentials are used to account for screening and core-relaxation effects. For the 4p{sub 1/2}-4d{sub 3/2} transition in copperlike bismuth, thorium and uranium, results are in good agreement with empirical QED corrections deduced from differences between transition energies obtained from recent high-precision electron-beam ion-trap (EBIT) measurements and those calculated with the relativistic many-body perturbation theory (RMBPT). These comparisons provide sensitive tests of QED corrections for high angular momentum states in many-electron heavy ions and illustrate the importance of core-relaxation corrections. Comparisons are also made with other theories and with experiment on the 4s-4p transition energies of high-Z Cu-like ions as accuracy checks of the present RMBPT and QED calculations.

The structure and ground state electronic structure of the recently synthesized SrPdO3 perovskite [A. Galal et al. J. Power Sources 195, 3806 (2010), 10.1016/j.jpowsour.2009.12.091] have been studied by means of screened hybrid functional and the GW approximation with the inclusion of electron-hole interaction within the test-charge/test-charge scheme. By conducting a structural search based on lattice dynamics and group theoretical method we identify the orthorhombic phase with Pnma space group as the most stable crystal structure. The phase transition from the ideal cubic perovskite structure to the Pnma one is explained in terms of the simultaneous stabilization of the antiferrodistortive phonon modes R4+ and M3+. Our results indicate that SrPdO3 exhibits an insulating ground state, substantiated by a GW0 gap of about 1.1 eV. Spin polarized calculations suggest that SrPdO3 adopts a low spin state (t2g↑↓↑↓↑↓eg0), and is expected to exhibit spin excitations and spin state crossovers at finite temperature, analogous to the case of 3d isoelectronic LaCoO3. This would provide another playground for the study of spin state transitions in 4d oxides and an opportunity to design multifunctional materials based on the 4d Pnma building block.

Breathing motion leads to a significant displacement and deformation of organs in the abdominal region. This makes the detection of the breathing phase for numerous applications necessary. We propose a new, purely image-based respiratory gating method for ultrasound. Further, we use this technique to provide a solution for breathing affected 4D ultrasound acquisitions with a wobbler probe. We achieve the gating with Laplacian eigenmaps, a manifold learning technique, to determine the low-dimensional manifold embedded in the high-dimensional image space. Since Laplacian eigenmaps assign each ultrasound frame a coordinate in low-dimensional space by respecting the neighborhood relationship, they are well suited for analyzing the breathing cycle. For the 4D application, we perform the manifold learning for each angle, and consecutively, align all the local curves and perform a curve fitting to achieve a globally consistent breathing signal. We performed the image-based gating on several 2D and 3D ultrasound datasets over time, and quantified its very good performance by comparing it to measurements from an external gating system.

The Orange "Data for Development" (D4D) challenge is an open data challenge on anonymous call patterns of Orange's mobile phone users in Ivory Coast. The goal of the challenge is to help address society development questions in novel ways by contributing to the socio-economic development and well-being of the Ivory Coast population. Participants to the challenge are given access to four mobile phone datasets and the purpose of this paper is to describe the four datasets. The website http://www.d4d.orange.com contains more information about the participation rules. The datasets are based on anonymized Call Detail Records (CDR) of phone calls and SMS exchanges between five million of Orange's customers in Ivory Coast between December 1, 2011 and April 28, 2012. The datasets are: (a) antenna-to-antenna traffic on an hourly basis, (b) individual trajectories for 50,000 customers for two week time windows with antenna location information, (3) individual trajectories for 50,000 customers over the entire observatio...

We complete here a three-part study (see also arXiv:1506.08095 and 1508.00856) of how codimension-two objects back-react gravitationally with their environment, with particular interest in situations where the transverse `bulk' is stabilized by the interplay between gravity and flux-quantization in a dilaton-Maxwell-Einstein system such as commonly appears in higher-dimensional supergravity and is used in the Supersymmetric Large Extra Dimensions (SLED) program. Such systems enjoy a classical flat direction that can be lifted by interactions with the branes, giving a mass to the would-be modulus that is smaller than the KK scale. We construct the effective low-energy 4D description appropriate below the KK scale once the transverse extra dimensions are integrated out, and show that it reproduces the predictions of the full UV theory for how the vacuum energy and modulus mass depend on the properties of the branes and stabilizing fluxes. In particular we show how this 4D theory learns the news of flux quantiza...

The Octavius 4D dosimetric system generates a 3D dose matrix based on a measured planar dose and user supplied Percentage Depth Dose (PDD) data. The accuracy of 3D dose matrices reconstructed by the Octavius 4D dosimetric system was systematically studied for an open static field, an open arc field and clinical VMAT plans. The Octavius reconstructed 3D dose matrices were compared with the Treatment Planning System (TPS) calculated 3D dose matrices using 3D gamma (γ) analysis with 2%/2mm and 3%/3mm tolerance criteria. The larger detector size in the 2D detector array of the Octavius system resulted in failed voxels in the high dose gradient regions. For the open arc fields mean (1σ) γ pass rates of 84.5(8.9) % and 94.2(4.5) % were observed with 2%/2mm and 3%/3mm tolerance criteria respectively and for clinical VMAT plans mean (1σ) γ pass rates of 86.8(3.5) % and 96.7(1.4) % were observed.

This paper presents a new Ubiquitous Sensor Network (USN) Architecture to be used in developing countries and reveals its usefulness by highlighting some of its key features. In complement to a previous ITU proposal, our architecture referred to as "Ubiquitous Sensor Network for Development (USN4D)" integrates in its layers features such as opportunistic data dissemination, long distance deployment and localisation of information to meet the requirements of the developing world. Besides describing some of the most important requirements for the sensor equipment to be used in a USN4D setting, we present the main features and experiments conducted using the "WaspNet" as one of the wireless sensor deployment platforms that meets these requirements. Furthermore, building upon "WaspNet" platform, we present an application to Air pollution Monitoring in the city of Cape Town, in South Africa as one of the first steps towards building community wireless sensor networks (CSN) in the developing world using off-the-shelf sensor equipment.

Different concentrations of the herbicide 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4D) and its possible intermediates such as 2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4DCP), 4-chlorophenol (4CP), 2-chlorophenol (2CP) and phenol, were assayed to evaluate the inhibitory effect on sulfate and ethanol utilization in a sulfate reducing biofilm. Increasing concentrations of the chlorophenolic compounds showed an adverse effect on sulfate reduction rate and ethanol conversion to acetate, being the intermediate 2,4DCP most toxic than the herbicide. The monochlorophenol 4CP (600 ppm) caused the complete cessation of sulfate reduction and ethanol conversion. The ratio of the electron acceptor to the electron donor utilized as well as the sulfate utilization volumetric rates, diminished when chlorophenols and phenol concentrations were increased, pointing out to the inhibition of the respiratory process and electrons transfer. The difference found in the IC{sub 50} values obtained was due to the chemical structure complexity of the phenolic compounds, the number of chlorine atoms as much as the chlorine atom position in the phenol ring. The IC{sub 50} values (ppm) indicated that the acute inhibition on the biofilm was caused by 2,4DCP (17.4) followed by 2,4D (29.0), 2CP (99.8), 4CP (108.0) and phenol (143.8).

Exposure to prenatal androgens affects both future behavior and life choices. However, there is still relatively limited evidence on its effects on academic performance. Moreover, the predicted effect of exposure to prenatal testosterone (T)-which is inversely correlated with the relative length of the second to fourth finger lengths (2D:4D)-would seem to have ambiguous effects on academic achievement since traits like aggressiveness or risk-taking are not uniformly positive for success in school. We provide the first evidence of a non-linear, quadratic, relationship between 2D:4D and academic achievement using samples from Moscow and Manila. We also find that there is a gender differentiated link between various measures of academic achievement and measured digit ratios. These effects are different depending on the field of study, choice of achievement measure, and use of the right hand or left digit ratios. The results seem to be asymmetric between Moscow and Manila where the right (left) hand generates inverted-U (U-shaped) curves in Moscow while the pattern for hands reverses in Manila. Drawing from unusually large and detailed samples of university students in two countries not studied in the digit literature, our work is the first to have a large cross country comparison that includes two groups with very different ethnic compositions.

Full Text Available Segmentation of brain MR images plays an important role in longitudinal investigation of developmental, aging, disease progression changes in the cerebral cortex. However, most existing brain segmentation methods consider multiple time-point images individually and thus cannot achieve longitudinal consistency. For example, cortical thickness measured from the segmented image will contain unnecessary temporal variations, which will affect the time related change pattern and eventually reduce the statistical power of analysis. In this paper, we propose a 4D segmentation framework for the adult brain MR images with the constraint of cortical thickness variations. Specifically, we utilize local intensity information to address the intensity inhomogeneity, spatial cortical thickness constraint to maintain the cortical thickness being within a reasonable range, and temporal cortical thickness variation constraint in neighboring time-points to suppress the artificial variations. The proposed method has been tested on BLSA dataset and ADNI dataset with promising results. Both qualitative and quantitative experimental results demonstrate the advantage of the proposed method, in comparison to other state-of-the-art 4D segmentation methods.

Respiratory motion poses a major challenge in lung radiotherapy. Based on 4D CT images, a variety of intensity-based deformable registration techniques have been proposed to study the pulmonary motion. However, the accuracy achievable with these approaches can be sub-optimal because the deformation is defined globally in space. Therefore, the accuracy of the alignment of local structures may be compromised. In this work, we propose a novel method to detect a large collection of natural junction structures in the lung and use them as the reliable markers to track the lung motion. Specifically, detection of the junction centers and sizes is achieved by analysis of local shape profiles on one segmented image. To track the temporal trajectory of a junction, the image intensities within a small region of interest surrounding the center are selected as its signature. Under the assumption of the cyclic motion, we describe the trajectory by a closed B-spline curve and search for the control points by maximizing a metric of combined correlation coefficients. Local extrema are suppressed by improving the initial conditions using random walks from pair-wise optimizations. Several descriptors are introduced to analyze the motion trajectories. Our method was applied to 13 real 4D CT images. More than 700 junctions in each case are detected with an average positive predictive value of greater than 90%. The average tracking error between automated and manual tracking is sub-voxel and smaller than the published results using the same set of data.

Full Text Available Traditional monopulse systems used for direction finding usually face the contradiction between high angle precision and wide angle-searching field, and a compromise has to be made. In this paper, the time modulation technique in four-dimensional (4D antenna array is introduced into the conventional phase-comparison monopulse to form a novel direction-finding system, in which both high angle resolution and wide field-of-view are realized. The full 4D array is divided into two subarrays and the differential evolution (DE algorithm is used to optimize the time sequence of each subarray to generate multibeams at the center frequency and low sidebands. Then the multibeams of the two subarrays are phase-compared with each other and multiple pairs of sum-difference beams are formed at different sidebands and point to different spatial angles. The proposed direction-finding system covers a large field-of-view of up to ±60° and simultaneously maintains the advantages of monopulse systems, such as high angle precision and low computation complexity. Theoretical analysis and experimental results validate the effectiveness of the proposed system.

Full Text Available Exposure to prenatal androgens affects both future behavior and life choices. However, there is still relatively limited evidence on its effects on academic performance. Moreover, the predicted effect of exposure to prenatal testosterone (T-which is inversely correlated with the relative length of the second to fourth finger lengths (2D:4D-would seem to have ambiguous effects on academic achievement since traits like aggressiveness or risk-taking are not uniformly positive for success in school. We provide the first evidence of a non-linear, quadratic, relationship between 2D:4D and academic achievement using samples from Moscow and Manila. We also find that there is a gender differentiated link between various measures of academic achievement and measured digit ratios. These effects are different depending on the field of study, choice of achievement measure, and use of the right hand or left digit ratios. The results seem to be asymmetric between Moscow and Manila where the right (left hand generates inverted-U (U-shaped curves in Moscow while the pattern for hands reverses in Manila. Drawing from unusually large and detailed samples of university students in two countries not studied in the digit literature, our work is the first to have a large cross country comparison that includes two groups with very different ethnic compositions.

As a follow-up to a previous proof-of-principle study, a novel Lagrangian pressure-extraction technique is analytically evaluated, and experimentally validated using dense 4D-PTV data. The technique is analytically evaluated using the semi-three-dimensional Taylor-Green vortex, and it is found that the Lagrangian technique out-performs the standard Eulerian technique when Dirichlet boundary conditions are enforced. However, the Lagrangian technique produces worse estimates of the pressure field when Neumann boundary conditions are enforced on boundaries with strong pressure gradients. The technique is experimentally validated using flow data obtained for the case of a free-falling, index-matched sphere at Re=2100. The experimental data were collected using a four-camera particle tracking velocimetry measurement system, and processed using 4D-PTV. The pressure field is then extracted using both the Eulerian and Lagrangian techniques, and the resulting pressure fields are compared. Qualitatively, the pressure fields agree; however, quantitative differences are found with respect to the magnitude of the pressure minima on the side of the sphere. Finally, the pressure-drag coefficient is estimated using each technique, and the two techniques are found to be in very close agreement. A comparison to a reference value from literature confirms that the drag coefficient estimates are reasonable, demonstrating the validity of the technique.

Compared to 3D cone beam computed tomography (3D CBCT), the image quality of commercially available four-dimensional (4D) CBCT is severely impaired due to the insufficient amount of projection data available for each phase. Since the traditional Feldkamp-Davis-Kress (FDK)-based algorithm is infeasible for reconstructing high quality 4D CBCT images with limited projections, investigators had developed several compress-sensing (CS) based algorithms to improve image quality. The aim of this study is to develop a novel algorithm which can provide better image quality than the FDK and other CS based algorithms with limited projections. We named this algorithm ‘the common mask guided image reconstruction’ (c-MGIR). In c-MGIR, the unknown CBCT volume is mathematically modeled as a combination of phase-specific motion vectors and phase-independent static vectors. The common-mask matrix, which is the key concept behind the c-MGIR algorithm, separates the common static part across all phase images from the possible moving part in each phase image. The moving part and the static part of the volumes were then alternatively updated by solving two sub-minimization problems iteratively. As the novel mathematical transformation allows the static volume and moving volumes to be updated (during each iteration) with global projections and ‘well’ solved static volume respectively, the algorithm was able to reduce the noise and under-sampling artifact (an issue faced by other algorithms) to the maximum extent. To evaluate the performance of our proposed c-MGIR, we utilized imaging data from both numerical phantoms and a lung cancer patient. The qualities of the images reconstructed with c-MGIR were compared with (1) standard FDK algorithm, (2) conventional total variation (CTV) based algorithm, (3) prior image constrained compressed sensing (PICCS) algorithm, and (4) motion-map constrained image reconstruction (MCIR) algorithm, respectively. To improve the efficiency of the

Micro-CT is commonly used in preclinical studies to provide anatomical information. There is growing interest in obtaining functional measurements from 4D micro-CT. We report here strategies for 4D micro-CT with a focus on two applications: (i) cardiac imaging based on retrospective gating and (ii) pulmonary perfusion using multiple contrast injections/rotations paradigm. A dual source micro-CT system is used for image acquisition with a sampling rate of 20 projections per second. The cardiac micro-CT protocol involves the use of a liposomal blood pool contrast agent. Fast scanning of free breathing mice is achieved using retrospective gating. The ECG and respiratory signals are used to sort projections into ten cardiac phases. The pulmonary perfusion protocol uses a conventional contrast agent (Isovue 370) delivered by a micro-injector in four injections separated by 2 min intervals to allow for clearance. Each injection is synchronized with the rotation of the animal, and each of the four rotations is started with an angular offset of 22.5 from the starting angle of the previous rotation. Both cardiac and perfusion protocols result in an irregular angular distribution of projections that causes significant streaking artifacts in reconstructions when using traditional filtered backprojection (FBP) algorithms. The reconstruction involves the use of the point spread function of the micro-CT system for each time point, and the analysis of the distribution of the reconstructed data in the Fourier domain. This enables us to correct for angular inconsistencies via deconvolution and identify regions where data is missing. The missing regions are filled with data from a high quality but temporally averaged prior image reconstructed with all available projections. Simulations indicate that deconvolution successfully removes the streaking artifacts while preserving temporal information. 4D cardiac micro-CT in a mouse was performed with adequate image quality at isotropic

Purpose: Four-dimensional cone-beam CT (4D-CBCT) is a novel imaging technique to setup patients with pulmonary lesions in radiation therapy. This paper is to perform a feasibility study on the implementation of 4D-CBCT as image guidance for (1) SBRT and (2) Low Modulation (Low-Mod) IMRT in lung cancer treatment. Methods: Image artifacts and observers variability are evaluated by analyzing the 4D-CT QA phantom and patient 4D image data. There are two 4D-CBCT image artifacts: (1) Spatial artifact caused by the patient irregular breathing pattern will generate blurring and anatomy gap/overlap; (2) Cone beam scattering and hardening artifact will affect the image spatial and contrast resolution. The couch shift varies between 1mm to 3mm from different observers during the 4D-CBCT registration. Breath training is highly recommended to improve the respiratory regularity during CT simulation and treatment, especially for SBRT. Elekta XVI 4.5 Symmetry protocol is adopted in the patient 4DCBCT scanning and intensity-based registration. Physician adjustments on the auto-registration are involved prior to the treatment. Physician peer review on 4D-CBCT image acquisition and registration is also recommended to reduce the inter-observer variability. The average 4D-CT in reference volume coordinates is exported to MIM Vista 5.6.2 to manually fuse to the planning CT for further evaluation. Results: (1) SBRT: 4DCBCT is performed in dry-run and in each treatment fraction. Image registration and couch shift are reviewed by another physician on the 1st fraction before the treatment starts. (2) Low-Mod IMRT: 4D-CBCT is performed and peer reviewed on weekly basis. Conclusion: 4D-CBCT in SBRT dry-run can discover the ITV discrepancies caused by the low quality 4D-CT simulation. 4D-CBCT during SBRT and Low-Mod IMRT treatment provides physicians more confidence to target lung tumor and capability to evaluate inter-fractional ITV changes. More advanced 4D-CBCT scan protocol and

Full Text Available A hyperjerk system is a dynamical system, which is modelled by an nth order ordinary differential equation with n ⩾ 4 describing the time evolution of a single scalar variable. Equivalently, using a chain of integrators, a hyperjerk system can be modelled as a system of n first order ordinary differential equations with n ⩾ 4. In this research work, a 4-D novel hyperchaotic hyperjerk system has been proposed, and its qualitative properties have been detailed. The Lyapunov exponents of the novel hyperjerk system are obtained as L1 = 0.1448, L2 = 0.0328, L3 = 0 and L4 = −1.1294. The Kaplan-Yorke dimension of the novel hyperjerk system is obtained as DKY= 3.1573. Next, an adaptive backstepping controller is designed to stabilize the novel hyperjerk chaotic system with three unknown parameters. Moreover, an adaptive backstepping controller is designed to achieve global hyperchaos synchronization of the identical novel hyperjerk systems with three unknown parameters. Finally, an electronic circuit realization of the novel jerk chaotic system using SPICE is presented in detail to confirm the feasibility of the theoretical hyperjerk model.

We here propose a 5-dimensional Abelian gauge model based on the mixing between a U(1) potential and an Abelian 3-form field by means of a topological mass term. An extended covariant derivative is introduced to minimally couple a Dirac field to the U(1) potential, while this same covariant derivative non-minimally couples the 3-form field to the charged fermion. A number of properties are discussed in 5D; in particular, the appearance of a topological fermionic current. A 4-dimensional reduced version of the model is investigated and, in addition to the U(1) electric- and magnetic-sort of fields, there emerges an extra set of electric- and magnetic-like fields which contribute a negative pressure and may be identified as a possible fraction of dark energy. The role of the topological fermionic current is also contemplated upon dimensional reduction from 5D to 4D. Other issues we present in 4 space-time dimensions are the emergence of a pseudo-scalar massive particle, an extra massive neutral gauge boson, which we interpret as a kind of paraphoton, and the calculation of spin- and velocity-dependent interparticle potentials associated to the exchange of the intermediate bosonic fields of the model. (orig.)

L{sub 2,3}-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) has demonstrated unique capabilities for the analysis of the electronic structure of di-Ru complexes such as the blue dimer cis,cis-[Ru{sub 2}{sup III}O(H{sub 2}O){sub 2}(bpy){sub 4}]{sup 4+} water oxidation catalyst. Spectra of the blue dimer and the monomeric [Ru(NH{sub 3}){sub 6}]{sup 3+} model complex show considerably different splitting of the Ru L{sub 2,3} absorption edge, which reflects changes in the relative energies of the Ru 4d orbitals caused by hybridization with a bridging ligand and spin-orbit coupling effects. To aid the interpretation of spectroscopic data, we developed a new approach, which computes L{sub 2,3}-edges XAS spectra as dipole transitions between molecular spinors of 4d transition metal complexes. This allows for careful inclusion of the spin-orbit coupling effects and the hybridization of the Ru 4d and ligand orbitals. The obtained theoretical Ru L{sub 2,3}-edge spectra are in close agreement with experiment. Critically, existing single-electron methods (FEFF, FDMNES) broadly used to simulate XAS could not reproduce the experimental Ru L-edge spectra for the [Ru(NH{sub 3}){sub 6}]{sup 3+} model complex nor for the blue dimer, while charge transfer multiplet (CTM) calculations were not applicable due to the complexity and low symmetry of the blue dimer water oxidation catalyst. We demonstrated that L-edge spectroscopy is informative for analysis of bridging metal complexes. The developed computational approach enhances L-edge spectroscopy as a tool for analysis of the electronic structures of complexes, materials, catalysts, and reactive intermediates with 4d transition metals.

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: A central aspect of development and disease is the control of cell proliferation through regulation of the mitotic cycle. Cell cycle progression and directionality requires an appropriate balance of positive and negative regulators whose expression must fluctuate in a coordinated manner. p19INK4d, a member of the INK4 family of CDK inhibitors, has a unique feature that distinguishes it from the remaining INK4 and makes it a likely candidate for contributing to the directionality of the cell cycle. p19INK4d mRNA and protein levels accumulate periodically during the cell cycle under normal conditions, a feature reminiscent of cyclins. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In this paper, we demonstrate that p19INK4d is transcriptionally regulated by E2F1 through two response elements present in the p19INK4d promoter. Ablation of this regulation reduced p19 levels and restricted its expression during the cell cycle, reflecting the contribution of a transcriptional effect of E2F1 on p19 periodicity. The induction of p19INK4d is delayed during the cell cycle compared to that of cyclin E, temporally separating the induction of these proliferative and antiproliferative target genes. Specific inhibition of the E2F1-p19INK4d pathway using triplex-forming oligonucleotides that block E2F1 binding on p19 promoter, stimulated cell proliferation and increased the fraction of cells in S phase. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The results described here support a model of normal cell cycle progression in which, following phosphorylation of pRb, free E2F induces cyclin E, among other target genes. Once cyclinE/CDK2 takes over as the cell cycle driving kinase activity, the induction of p19 mediated by E2F1 leads to inhibition of the CDK4,6-containing complexes, bringing the G1 phase to an end. This regulatory mechanism constitutes a new negative feedback loop that terminates the G1 phase proliferative signal, contributing to the proper coordination of the cell

A new online imaging approach, linac-integrated cone beam CT (CBCT), has been developed over the past few years. It has the advantage that a patient can be examined in their treatment position directly before or during a radiotherapy treatment. Unfortunately, respiratory organ motion, one of the largest intrafractional organ motions, often leads to artefacts in the reconstructed 3D images. One way to take this into account is to register the breathing phase during image acquisition for a phase-correlated image reconstruction. Therefore, the main focus of this work is to present a system which has the potential to investigate the correlation between internal (movement of the diaphragm) and external (data of a respiratory gating system) information about breathing phase and amplitude using an inline CBCT scanner. This also includes a feasibility study about using the acquired information for a respiratory-correlated 4D CBCT reconstruction. First, a moving lung phantom was used to develop and to specify the required methods which are based on an image reconstruction using only projections belonging to a certain moving phase. For that purpose, the corresponding phase has to be detected for each projection. In the case of the phantom, an electrical signal allows one to track the movement in real time. The number of projections available for the image reconstruction depends on the breathing phase and the size of the position range from which projections should be used for the reconstruction. The narrower this range is, the better the inner structures can be located, but also the noise of the images increases due to the limited number of projections. This correlation has also been analysed. In a second step, the methods were clinically applied using data sets of patients with lung tumours. In this case, the breathing phase was detected by an external gating system (AZ-733V, Anzai Medical Co.) based on a pressure sensor attached to the patient's abdominal region with a

Purpose: Delineating tumor motion by four-dimensional positron emission tomography/computed tomography (4D-PET/CT) is a crucial step for gated radiotherapy (RT). This article quantitatively evaluates semiautomatic algorithms for tumor shift estimation in the lung region due to patient respiration by 4D-PET/CT, in order to support the selection of the best phases for gated RT, by considering the most stable phases of the breathing cycle. Methods: Three mobile spheres and ten selected lesions were included in this study. 4D-PET/CT data were reconstructed and classified into six/ten phases. The semiautomatic algorithms required the generation of single sets of images representative of the full target motion, used as masks for segmenting the phases. For 4D-CT, a pre-established HU range was used, whereas three thresholds (100%, 80%, and 40%) were evaluated for 4D-PET. By using these segmentations, the authors estimated the lesion motion from the shifting centroids, and the phases with the least motion were also deduced including the phases with a curve slope less than 2 mm/{Delta}phase. The proposed algorithms were validated by comparing the results to those generated entirely by manual contouring. Results: In the phantom study, the mean difference between the manual contour and the semiautomatic technique was 0.1{+-}0.1 mm for 4D-CT and 0.2{+-}0.1 mm for the 4D-PET based on 40% threshold. In the patients' series, the mean difference was 0.9{+-}0.6 mm for 4D-CT and 0.8{+-}0.2 mm for the 4D-PET based on 40% threshold. Conclusions: Estimation of lesion motion by the proposed semiautomatic algorithm can be used to evaluate tumor motion due to breathing.

The study was to describe and to compare the performance of 3D and 4D CBCT imaging modalities by measuring and analyzing the delivered dose and the image quality. The 3D (Chest) and 4D (Symmetry) CBCT Elekta XVI lung IGRT protocols were analyzed. Dose profiles were measured with TLDs inside a dedicated phantom. The dosimetric indicator cone-beam dose index (CBDI) was evaluated. The image quality analysis was performed by assessing the contrast transfer function (CTF), the noise power spectrum (NPS) and the noise-equivalent quanta (NEQ). Artifacts were also evaluated by simulating irregular breathing variations. The two imaging modalities showed different dose distributions within the phantom. At the center, the 3D CBCT delivered twice the dose of the 4D CBCT. The CTF was strongly reduced by motion compared to static conditions, resulting in a CTF reduction of 85% for the 3D CBCT and 65% for the 4D CBCT. The amplitude of the NPS was two times higher for the 4D CBCT than for the 3D CBCT. In the presence of motion, the NEQ of the 4D CBCT was 50% higher than the 3D CBCT. In the presence of breathing irregularities, the 4D CBCT protocol was mainly affected by view-aliasing artifacts, which were typically cone-beam artifacts, while the 3D CBCT protocol was mainly affected by duplication artifacts. The results showed that the 4D CBCT ensures a reasonable dose and better image quality when mov-ing targets are involved compared to 3D CBCT. Therefore, 4D CBCT is a reliable imaging modality for lung free-breathing radiation therapy.

To evaluate the feasibility of a 4D-flow sequence of the whole heart and great vessel to retrospectively quantify blood flow within the entire heart. 4D-flow has been introduced as a means of acquiring anatomical and three-directional velocity information for all pixels within a 3D volume over...... for the acquisition of 4D-flow data of an isotropic saggital volume using a real time self gating technique. The data can thereafter be reformatted in any clinical view allowing the quantification of flow in different vessels with arbitrary orientations. This is important in congenital heart (CH) patients where scan...

The regular structures of a generic 4d symplectic map with a mixed phase space are organized by one-parameter families of elliptic 1d-tori. Such families show prominent bends, gaps, and new branches. We explain these features in terms of bifurcations of the families when crossing a resonance. For these bifurcations, no external parameter has to be varied. Instead, the longitudinal frequency, which varies along the family, plays the role of the bifurcation parameter. As an example, we study two coupled standard maps by visualizing the elliptic and hyperbolic 1d-tori in a 3d phase-space slice, local 2d projections, and frequency space. The observed bifurcations are consistent with the analytical predictions previously obtained for quasi-periodically forced oscillators. Moreover, the new families emerging from such a bifurcation form the skeleton of the corresponding resonance channel.

This is achieved starting from the BPS black string in 6d with an AdS3×S3 attractor and taking two different routes to arrive at a 1/2 BPS AdS2×S2 attractor of a non-BPS black hole in 4d N=2 flat gauged supergravity. The two inequivalent routes interchange the order of KK reduction on AdS3 and SS reduction on S3. We also find the commutator between the two operations after performing a duality transformation: on the level of the theory the result is the exchange of electric with magnetic gaugings; on the level of the solution we find a flip of the quartic invariant I4 to −I4.

Manual landmark positioning in volumetric image data is a complex task and often results in erroneous landmark positions. The landmark positioning tool presented uses image curvature features to precompute suitable candidates for landmark positions on surface data of anatomical structures. A force-feedback I/O device is then used to haptically guide the user during the definition of the correct landmarks in the 3D data volume. Furthermore, existing landmarks in a time-point of a sequence of 3D volumes (4D data set) can iteratively be transferred to other time-points using a surface based registration technique. First results show significant time savings and small interobserver variability (IROV) compared to the IROV of manually defined landmark positions using orthogonal slices of the image data.

The XCAT phantom is a realistic 4D digital torso phantom that is widely used in imaging and therapy research. However, lung mass is not conserved between respiratory phases of the phantom, making detailed dosimetric simulations and dose accumulation unphysical. A framework is developed to correct this issue by enforcing local mass conservation in the XCAT lung. Dose calculations are performed to assess the implications of neglecting mass conservation, and to demonstrate an application of the phantom to calculate the accumulated delivered dose in an irregularly breathing patient. Monte Carlo methods are used to simulate conventional and SBRT treatment delivery. The spatial distribution of the lung dose was qualitatively changed by the use of mass conservation; however the corresponding DVH did not change significantly. Comparison of the delivered dose with 4DCT-based predictions shows similar lung metric results, however dose differences of 10% can be seen in some spatial regions. Using this tool to simulate p...

NASA-Langley has been conducting and sponsoring research in airborne energy management for a number of years. During the course of this research, two fundamental techniques for the generation of 4D (fixed time) descent trajectories have emerged as viable candidates for advanced flight management systems. The first technique utilizes speed schedules of constant Mach number transitioning to constant calibrated airspeed chosen empirically to produce minimum fuel usage. The second technique computes cost optimized speed schedules of variable airspeed developed through application of optimal control theory. Both techniques have been found to produce reasonable and flyable descent trajectories. The formulation of the algorithms for each technique is evaluated and their suitability for operations in realistic conditions is discussed. Operational factors considered include: airplace speed, thrust, and altitude rate constaints; wind, temperature, and pressure variations; Air Traffic Control altitude, speed, and time constaints; and pilot interface and guidance considerations. Time flexibility, fuel usage, and airborne computational requirements were the primary performance measures.

We explore properties of the universal terms in the entanglement entropy and logarithmic negativity in 4D conformal field theories, aiming to clarify the ways in which they behave like the analogous entanglement measures in quantum mechanics. We show that, unlike entanglement entropy in finite-dimensional systems, the sign of the universal part of entanglement entropy is indeterminate. In particular, if and only if the central charges obey a>c, the entanglement across certain classes of entangling surfaces can become arbitrarily negative, depending on the geometry and topology of the surface. The negative contribution is proportional to the product of a-c and the genus of the surface. Similarly, we show that in a>c theories, the logarithmic negativity does not always exceed the entanglement entropy.

Scattering amplitudes in 4d $\\mathcal{N}=4$ super Yang-Mills theory (SYM) can be described by Grassmannian contour integrals whose form depends on whether the external data is encoded in momentum space, twistor space, or momentum twistor space. After a pedagogical review, we present a new, streamlined proof of the equivalence of the three integral formulations. A similar strategy allows us to derive a new Grassmannian integral for 3d $\\mathcal{N}=6$ ABJM theory amplitudes in momentum twistor space: it is a contour integral in an orthogonal Grassmannian with the novel property that the internal metric depends on the external data. The result can be viewed as a central step towards developing an amplituhedron formulation for ABJM amplitudes. Various properties of Grassmannian integrals are examined, including boundary properties, pole structure, and a homological interpretation of the global residue theorems for $\\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM.

S-box plays an imperative role in designing a cryptographically strong block cipher. Designing S-box based on chaos has attracted lots of attentions because of its distinct characteristics relevant to cryptography. In this paper, a 4D-4wing hyperchaotic system is investigated. Its sophisticated nonlinear behaviors are used to generate two pseudorandom 8-bit integer sequences, which further drive iterative two-position swap on the identical map on GF(28). According to the indicator of typical evaluation criteria including nonlinearity, differential uniformity, strict avalanche criterion, output bits independence criterion and bijective property, the preferred S-box is obtained from all those batch-generated ones. The comparison with the state-of-the-art chaos-based schemes shows that the obtained S-box achieves better cryptographical performance.

The objective of this clinical-need driven research is to investigate the effect of renal artery stenosis (RAS) on the blood flow and wall shear stress in renal arteries through 4-D patient-specific computational hemodynamics (PSCH) and search for possible critical RASs that significantly alter the pressure gradient across the stenosis by manually varying the size of RAS from 50% to 95%. The identification of the critical RAS is important to understand the contribution of RAS to the overall renal resistance thus appropriate clinical therapy can be determined in order to reduce the hypertension. Clinical CT angiographic data together with Doppler Ultra sound images of an anonymous patient are used serving as the required inputs of the PSCH. To validate the PSCH, we use both Ansys Fluent and Sim Vascular and compare velocity, pressure, and wall-shear stress under identical conditions. Renal Imaging Technology Development Program (RITDP) Grant.

The regular structures of a generic 4d symplectic map with a mixed phase space are organized by one-parameter families of elliptic 1d-tori. Such families show prominent bends, gaps, and new branches. We explain these features in terms of bifurcations of the families when crossing a resonance. For these bifurcations, no external parameter has to be varied. Instead, the longitudinal frequency, which varies along the family, plays the role of the bifurcation parameter. As an example, we study two coupled standard maps by visualizing the elliptic and hyperbolic 1d-tori in a 3d phase-space slice, local 2d projections, and frequency space. The observed bifurcations are consistent with the analytical predictions previously obtained for quasi-periodically forced oscillators. Moreover, the new families emerging from such a bifurcation form the skeleton of the corresponding resonance channel.

The convergence of additive manufacturing and shape-morphing materials is promising for the advancement of personalized medical devices. The capability to transform 3D objects from one shape to another, right off the print bed, is known as 4D printing. Shape memory thermosets can be tailored to have a range of thermomechanical properties favorable to medical devices, but processing them is a challenge because they are insoluble and do not flow at any temperature. This study presents here a strategy to capitalize on a series of medical imaging modalities to construct a printable shape memory endoluminal device, exemplified by a tracheal stent. A methacrylated polycaprolactone precursor with a molecular weight of 10 000 g mol(-1) is printed with a UV-LED stereolithography printer based on anatomical data. This approach converges with the zeitgeist of personalized medicine and it is anticipated that it will broadly expand the application of shape memory-exhibiting biomedical devices to myriad clinical indications.

Magnetic fields play essential roles in various astronomical objects. Radio astronomy has revealed that magnetic fields are ubiquitous in our Universe. However, the real origin and evolution of magnetic fields is poorly proven. In order to advance our knowledge of cosmic magnetism in coming decades, the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) should have supreme sensitivity than ever before, which provides numerous observation points in the cosmic space. Furthermore, the SKA should be designed to facilitate wideband polarimetry so as to allow us to examine sightline structures of magnetic fields by means of depolarization and Faraday Tomography. The SKA will be able to drive cosmic magnetism of the interstellar medium, the Milky Way, galaxies, AGN, galaxy clusters, and potentially the cosmic web which may preserve information of the primeval Universe. The Japan SKA Consortium (SKA-JP) Magnetism Science Working Group (SWG) proposes the project "Resolving 4-D Nature of Magnetism with Depolarization and Faraday Tomography"...

Accurate imaging and measurement of hemodynamic forces is vital for investigating how physical forces acting on the embryonic heart are transduced and influence developmental pathways. Of particular importance is blood flow-induced shear stress, which influences gene expression by endothelial cells and potentially leads to congenital heart defects through abnormal heart looping, septation, and valvulogenesis. However no imaging tool has been available to measure shear stress on the endocardium volumetrically and dynamically. Using 4D structural and Doppler OCT imaging, we are able to accurately measure the blood flow in the heart tube in vivo and to map endocardial shear stress throughout the heart cycle under physiological conditions for the first time. These measurements of the shear stress patterns will enable precise titration of experimental perturbations and accurate correlation of shear with the expression of molecules critical to heart development.

The programmable sequential actuation of two-dimensional hydrogel membranes into three-dimensional folded architectures has been achieved by combining ionoprinting and redox chemistry; this methodology permits the programmed evolution of complex architectures triggered through localized out-of-plane deformations. In our study we describe a soft actuator which utilizes ionoprinting of iron and vanadium, with the selective reduction of iron through a mild reducing agent, to achieve chemically controlled sequential folding. Through the optimization of solvent polarity and ionoprinting variables (voltage, duration and anode composition), we have shown how the actuation pathways, rate-of-movement and magnitude of angular rotation can be controlled for the design of a 4D sequential actuator.

There are more and more data being measured by different Earth Observation satellites around the world. Ever increasing amount of these data present new challenges and opportunities for their visualization.In this paper we propose how to visualize the amount, distribution and the structure of the data in a transparent way, which will take into account time-dimensions as well. Our approach allows us to get a global overview as well detailed regional information about distribution of the products from EO observation missions.We focus on introducing our mobile-friendly and easy- to-use web mapping application for 4D visualization of the data. Apart from that we also present the Java application which can read and process the data from various data sources.

Full Text Available The ratio between the second and fourth digits is a proxy marker for prenatal exposure and sensitivity to sexual hormones, which can be genetically influenced. The influence of prenatal hormone exposure can reflect on adult life traits such as psychological traits, athletic performance and diseases such as cardiovascular. An important and newly explored field on digit ratio research is its correlation to different types of cancer, as a marker for prevalence and severity. In this review, the different types of cancer already correlated to digit ratios are discussed.----------------------------------------------Cite this article as: Hopp RN, Lima N, Filho J, Sena-Filho M, Samuel RO, Amaral JG, Jorge J. Digit Ratio (2D:4D and cancer: What is known so far? Int J Cancer Ther Oncol 2014; 2(1:020111.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.14319/ijcto.0201.11

We consider the $\\gamma$-deformed $\\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM in the double scaling limit of large imaginary twist and small coupling, which discards the gauge fields and retains only certain Yukawa and scalar interactions with three arbitrary couplings. In the 't Hooft limit, these 4D theories are conformal and integrable, with the whole arsenal of AdS/CFT integrability applicable. In particular, for one non-zero coupling, we obtain a QFT of two complex scalars with a chiral, quartic interaction. The BMN vacuum anomalous dimension is dominated in each order by a single "wheel" graph, in principle computable by integrability. Thus we also provide an explicit conjecture for the periods of double-wheel graphs with an arbitrary number of spokes.

In this work we propose an ensemble 4D seismic history matching framework for reservoir characterization. Compared to similar existing frameworks in reservoir engineering community, the proposed one consists of some relatively new ingredients, in terms of the type of seismic data in choice, wavelet multiresolution analysis for the chosen seismic data and related data noise estimation, and the use of recently developed iterative ensemble history matching algorithms. Typical seismic data used for history matching, such as acoustic impedance, are inverted quantities, whereas extra uncertainties may arise during the inversion processes. In the proposed framework we avoid such intermediate inversion processes. In addition, we also adopt wavelet-based sparse representation to reduce data size. Concretely, we use intercept and gradient attributes derived from amplitude versus angle (AVA) data, apply multilevel discrete wavelet transforms (DWT) to attribute data, and estimate noise level of resulting wavelet coeffici...

Continuing advances in multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) technology are revolutionizing the non-invasive evaluation of congenital and acquired large airway disorders in children. For example, the faster scanning time and increased anatomical coverage that are afforded by MDCT are especially beneficial to children. MDCT also provides high-quality multiplanar 2-dimensional (2-D), internal and external volume-rendering 3-dimensional (3-D), and dynamic 4-dimensional (4-D) imaging. These advances have enabled CT to become the primary non-invasive imaging modality of choice for the diagnosis, treatment planning, and follow-up evaluation of various large airway disorders in infants and children. It is thus essential for radiologists to be familiar with safe and effective techniques for performing MDCT and to be able to recognize the characteristic imaging appearances of large airway disorders affecting children. (orig.)

The 3D reconstruction of cardiac vasculature, e.g. the coronary arteries, using C-arm CT (rotational angiography) is an active and challenging field of research. There are numerous publications on different reconstruction techniques. However, there is still a lack of comparability of achieved results for several reasons: foremost, datasets used in publications are not open to public and thus experiments are not reproducible by other researchers. Further, the results highly depend on the vasculature motion, i.e. cardiac and breathing motion patterns which are also not comparable across publications. We aim to close this gap by providing an open platform, called Cavarev (CArdiac VAsculature Reconstruction EValuation). It features two simulated dynamic projection datasets based on the 4D XCAT phantom with contrasted coronary arteries which was derived from patient data. In the first dataset, the vasculature undergoes a continuous periodic motion. The second dataset contains aperiodic heart motion by including additional breathing motion. The geometry calibration and acquisition protocol were obtained from a real-world C-arm system. For qualitative evaluation of the reconstruction results, the correlation of the morphology is used. Two segmentation-based quality measures are introduced which allow us to assess the 3D and 4D reconstruction quality. They are based on the spatial overlap of the vasculature reconstruction with the ground truth. The measures enable a comprehensive analysis and comparison of reconstruction results independent from the utilized reconstruction algorithm. An online platform (www.cavarev.com) is provided where the datasets can be downloaded, researchers can manage and publish algorithm results and download a reference C++ and Matlab implementation.

The toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) plays a key role in the activation of innate immune response participating in the recognition of lipopolysaccharides. Changes in the innate immune response are involved in the pathogenesis of some metabolic disorders such as metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes mellitus (Met-S and T2DM). It has been recently shown the role of gut microbiota in the perpetuation of both insulin resistance and low-grade chronic inflammation. Some studies have reported that TLR4D299G polymorphism is associated with metabolic disorders, however results have been inconsistent. Two recent meta-analyses showed that D299G is associated with inflammatory bowel disease and gastrointestinal cancers risk, two pathological states in which the luminal microbial flora-host cells interaction may be implicated. We conducted a systemic review of the published data considering all eligible published studies (six studies with 1696 cases and 3388 controls for D299G) and a meta-analysis was performed to evaluate the association between TLR4D299G polymorphism and the risk for metabolic disorders. Five studies were identified for T2DM: three corresponding to Caucasian populations and two to mixed populations. The remaining study analyzed Met-S in a Caucasian population. We observed a significant association between D299G polymorphism and metabolic disorders (T2DM and Met-S) risk (OR = 0.566, 95 % CI: 0.347-0.925, p = 0.023) particularly in Caucasians. No association was found in mixed population subgroup. Our meta-analysis identified that the AG/GG genotypes of D299G are associated with decreased metabolic disorders risk.

We argue that massless gravitons in all even dimensional de Sitter (dS) spacetimes higher than two admit a linear memory effect arising from their propagation inside the null cone. Assume that gravitational waves (GWs) are being generated by an isolated source, and over only a finite period of time {η\\text{i}}≤slant η ≤slant {η\\text{f}} . Outside of this time interval, suppose the shear-stress of the GW source becomes negligible relative to its energy-momentum and its mass quadrupole moments settle to static values. We then demonstrate, the transverse-traceless (TT) GW contribution to the perturbation of any dS4+2n written in a conformally flat form ({{a}2}{ημ ν}\\text{d}{{x}μ}\\text{d}{{x}ν} )—after the source has ceased and the primary GW train has passed—amounts to a spacetime constant shift in the flat metric proportional to the difference between the TT parts of the source’s final and initial mass quadrupole moments. As a byproduct, we present solutions to Einstein’s equations linearized about de Sitter backgrounds of all dimensions greater than three. We then point out there is a similar but approximate tail induced linear GW memory effect in 4D matter dominated universes. Our work here serves to improve upon and extend the 4D cosmological results of Chu (2015 Phys. Rev. D 92 124038), which in turn preceded complementary work by Bieri et al (2015 arXiv:1509.01296) and by Kehagias and Riotto (2016 arXiv:1602.02653).